Trial of Halves
by Kariana Kusanagi
Summary: Trilogy of Anything and Trials of Life. KurOC Everything was supposed to go back to normal. Was being the key word. Now Andrea's life hangs in the balance again.
1. Past Revisted

Past Revisited

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Okay, if you didn't know I don't own YYH, I don't.))

Cece: "Trial of Halves" is here!

Kurama: Okay. Enough of the chocolate.

Yusuke: Anything we can watch?

Kurama/Cece: (hit Yusuke) NO!

Cece: Read on; the mystery of Binoculars Guy comes out, too.

Kurama: And two different sides.

Cece: Keep reading, and thanks to all the people who reviewed the other two parts.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kurama walked into the café, dressed in a green flannel shirt with a white undershirt and khakis. He had made a bet with Andrea on a game of Dance Dance Revolution /1, with the loser buying lunch. Well, Kurama thanked Enma for that job he had, because he had to pay for lunch. He had arrived five minutes early, which was a good thing, because the café was starting to get busy.

A waitress walked up to him and smiled at him. "Hey, hot stuff," she said, flirtation in her voice.

Kurama smiled, although he was embarrassed. "Uh, hello. I need a table please. For two."

The waitress nodded at the redhead. "Sure thing, honey," she answered, leading him to a table, where he sat down, and she left two menus. "I'll be back in a little bit, pumpkin." With that, she went to attend to other customers.

Kurama pulled one of the menus open and started reading it. _It was a close game,_ Kurama thought as he continued reading. _I'm glad she won._

Andrea, dressed in a tan jacket over a light blue shirt, khakis, and blue tennis shoes, walked in the café and noticed a familiar looking redhead. She snuck up behind him and held onto his shoulder. "Hey."

Kurama looked up at her; he already knew who it was and smiled. "Hello."

Andrea looked at him, eyebrow raised. "Nothing ever fazes you, does it?"

Kurama shook his head. "Not much."

Jokingly, Andrea pursed her glossed lips into a pout. "You're no fun," she teased at him. "Still sore about you losing on DDR?"

Kurama watched as Andrea walked to the other side of the table. "I am never sore over anything, though my rear may be."

Andrea sat down in front of him and looked at him. "Well, you almost had me," she said, and as Kurama nodded, she continued. "Though I wish I could say the same about that other guy."

Kurama chuckled. He knew whom she was talking about. One guy had gotten on the machine and challenged Andrea, who had defeated him faster than it took for paint to dry. "He had it coming," he remarked.

Andrea nodded her head, her bangs teasing her forehead. "True."

Kurama looked at her with his emerald gaze. Andrea was definitely something else. "Do you wish to order?" he asked her.

"Well, nothing with caffeine," Andrea answered him, still slightly tired from the game. "Trying to tone down."

With everything that had happened, Kurama had to agree; caffeine wasn't a smart idea. "Agreed. Does fruit juice sound good?"

Andrea nodded her head. "Did you just read my mind?"

"It's the only thing here without caffeine."

_If I turn red in front of this guy..._ she thought to herself. Aloud, she answered, "I doubt I could handle caffeine at the moment."

Just then, the waitress appeared at their table. "So, what will it be, darling?" she asked.

Kurama wasn't really over the last bit of the flirtation aimed at him. "Uh, fruit juice please," he answered her and watched Andrea nod.

The waitress looked from Andrea to Kurama. "All right, honey; I'll get it for you." With that, she walked off.

After the waitress left the table, Andrea started giggling into her hand, which ultimately caused Kurama to look at her. Andrea looked back at him. "I think it's cute; she called you honey and darling," she said to him.

Kurama sweatdropped. "The curse of being a thousand year old Youko."

Andrea tried everything in her power to stop giggling, but so far, nothing was working. "Could be worse, you know," she said.

"True," Kurama agreed.

Andrea leaned on the table and answered him in a low tone only meant for Kurama. "You could be Yusuke."

Kurama jokingly grimaced. That could be worse now that he thought about it. "Oh, that would be bad," he answered, chuckling into his hand.

From the light flowing into the café, Andrea's eyes seemed to shimmer like two rare blue gems. "Then you'd be arrested for having devilish attraction."

Kurama couldn't help but laugh. "It wouldn't be the first time that's happened."

Andrea leaned back into her chair and looked at him, smiling. "Think it could be the last time?" she asked him. _Oh, my God. I'm flirting with him,_ she added to herself.

"Most likely," Kurama answered her. Mentally, he was questioning what was going on. _Is she flirting with me? Am I flirting with her? _he asked himself in his mind.

Andrea laughed through her closed mouth. "Does this mean I have to arrest you?" she asked him as she thought to herself, _Whatever you do... don't turn red._

"Only if it's an offense," Kurama answered her, hiding his hands under the table. _Why are my hands trembling?_ he asked himself mentally. Usually, he was calm, but now he looked about as nervous as a deer in the headlights.

_Why is my heart beating like crazy? What's wrong with me?_ she asked herself, feeling her heart racing within her. "In that case, I could arrest you," Andrea said out loud while her mind was screaming, _Enma... I'm starting to turn red._

Kurama raised his hands in surrender; he was playing along with her.

Giggling lightly, Andrea dug into her pocket. Pulling out a scrunchie, she wrapped it around his wrists like elastic handcuffs. Suddenly, she froze as if she were being shocked.

(Andrea's Subconscious Thoughts)

"Enma, please tell me I'm not flirting with him," she pleaded mentally.

Her conscious nodded. "Girl, you are" she said to her.

Mentally, Andrea was stunned. "I just forgave him, and now I'm flirting?" Noticing something was a little wrong, she added, "Uh... why's he looking at me like that?"

Andrea's conscious was wide-awake. "Girl, he's giving you the look!"

Andrea felt like she could have a heart attack. "It's only a dream... it's only a dream..." she thought.

Her other half shook her head. "It isn't any dream, hun."

Andrea felt like she was spacing out. "Okay, must snap out of it."

"O-KAY!" Her other half said in Alvin's voice and knocked her back into reality. /2/

(Kurama's Inner Thoughts with Youko)

Meanwhile, in Kurama's mind, Youko was wondering why his human side wasn't moving. "Shuichi, what's wrong with you? The girl's giving you signs already."

Kurama felt frozen, as if he were stuck in the same minute everything happened… and he didn't like it. "I don't know. I froze!"

Youko rolled his eyes. "Well, then, unfreeze," he mentally said to his human counterpart.

Mentally, Kurama wished he could. "Kinda hard right now!" he answered.

In his mind, Youko gave Kurama a knock upside his head.

Kurama rubbed his head mentally. "Ow! What was that for!"

Mentally, Youko looked at him. "Wake up, Shuichi! The girl is in love with you and you look like you're in denial!"

Kurama wasn't trying to be in denial; he just was. "But did you have to hit me?"

Youko gave Kurama a teasing glance in Andrea's direction. "Either that, or for that lovely woman in front of you to give you mouth-to-mouth, if you know what I mean." As Kurama popped him back, Youko looked at him. "Ouch."

(Back to Reality)

Andrea blinked, flinching her fingers back. She didn't know where her mind went, but it was definitely not in her brain.

Kurama noticed Andrea's sudden movement and looked overall concerned. "Are you all right?" he asked her.

Andrea's heart started to race again. "Oh! I... thought I shocked you a second ago," she answered. "What about you? Are you all right?"

Kurama blinked, out of it himself. "I'm, uh, fine."

Andrea looked at Kurama's "handcuffed" wrists and giggled. She said in a low tone where no one would hear, except Kurama, "I guess the great kitsune met his match."

Kurama looked at his wrists and chuckled. Indeed. "I guess he has," he agreed.

Just then, the waitress had returned, bringing two glasses of fruit juice. She looked at Kurama's wrists and raised an eyebrow. "Everything all right?"

Andrea nodded. "Just fine," she answered.

Kurama nodded in agreement. "Yes."

Still a little confused about Kurama's bound wrists, the waitress walked away. "Okay..."

Andrea set her elbows on the table and rested her chin against her hands. "So, how's the great kitsune gonna get out of this one?" she asked him.

Kurama smiled at her, a sly look on his face. "Well, I think I'll...Wait, is that Ogata Megumi/3/" He pointed on another direction.

Andrea blinked. Kurama knew she was her favorite Japanese singer. "Huh?" She looked in the direction he pointed. "Where?" When Andrea looked back at him, she said, "I don't see her." Then she saw that Kurama had slipped out of the scrunchie and held it up with a smirk on his face. "Show off."

Kurama chuckled, still holding the scrunchie in his hand. "I wasn't the best for nothing."

"I know," Andrea answered. She took a sip of her fruit juice but stopped as she looked over Kurama's shoulder at a guy with a football player like physique.

Sensing that Andrea had stopped moving only caused Kurama to get a little more worried. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

Andrea looked intently around Kurama's shoulder and felt a slight anger rise up inside her. _Oh, great... it's him_, she thought to herself. When she heard Kurama say her name, she blinked.

"Is something wrong?" Kurama asked her.

Andrea stood up and looked at him. "I'll be right back," she said, walking to the door with her literal game face on.

As Kurama watched her go, he blinked. _Wonder what's wrong,_ he thought to himself.

His Youko answered in his mind, _I don't know, but I don't like it._

Andrea had just gotten outside the door of the café when she saw a familiar face and stopped. "Jason?" she said, blinking.

Jason looked at Andrea and smiled charmingly. "Long time no see, babe."

Andrea's eyes narrowed somewhat. "I'm not your babe, remember? We broke up," she answered.

"Really? Is that the way you see it?"

"Yes, that's how I see it, because that's what happened."

Jason's smile remained. "Strange. I saw it differently."

Andrea scoffed, rolling her blue eyes. "Right," she answered.

"I seem to remember you saying you were just taking a walk," Jason said to her.

Andrea's fist shook from beside her. He didn't get it; she broke up with him, so it was over. Yet he still thought he owned her. "I came back here to get away from you... and what you did to me," she said to him.

Jason's voice raised an octave. "I took care of you!"

Andrea's eyes almost blazed with anger. "The hell you did!" she answered back.

Jason decided to calm down. "Andrea, all I'm asking is you come home."

Andrea's blue eyes almost turned indigo. "I'm not going anywhere with you. So, leave me alone." She turned on her heel and started to walk back inside.

Jason darted in front of her and pounded his fist against the brick wall outside. He wasn't letting Andrea go easily. "You're coming with me!"

"No, I'm not!" Andrea thought to go around him to avoid anything else.

Jason grabbed her arm halfway between her elbow and her shoulder. "Don't make a scene."

Andrea whirled around, her bobbed hair almost hitting her lips. "Let go of me!" She tried to pry his hand off of her arm. He had let go but he grabbed her coat. All Andrea did was glare at him.

Meanwhile, Kurama looked at his watch. _She's been out a long time,_ he thought to himself. He looked worried.

(Kurama's Thoughts with Youko)

Youko looked at his human counterpart. "I don't like it," he said.

Kurama shook his head. "Me neither. I feel that perhaps something is wrong."

Youko looked at his human side. "And it's about the lovely girl you were flirting with. I can feel it." After Kurama hit him, he looked like an accordion.

(Back to Reality)

Making up his mind, Kurama stood up and walked outside, where he saw Andrea trying to fend off someone. "Hey!" he called out.

Andrea looked in the direction of the voice. "Shuichi-kun!" she said, remembering to keep his human name in her mind.

Jason looked at "Shuichi." "Just go back inside. This is between her and me," he answered him.

Kurama ignored his remark. "I believe that's my friend you are harassing."

Jason held Andrea by her arm again. "So what?" he answered the redhead. "She's my woman."

Andrea looked at him, anger starting to reach her eyes again. "I'm not your woman! Never have been, never will be, and only when hell freezes over!"

Jason drew back his arm and slapped Andrea hard at her mouth. "When I say you're my woman, you're my woman. You hear me?" he said to her.

Kurama grabbed his shoulder. "I am asking you now, let her go."

Jason held Andrea's arm tighter, making the girl squint her eyes shut. "What are you going to do about it, girly man?" Jason said to him.

Kurama's emerald eyes narrowed. No one was going to assault his friend in front of him and get away with it. "I'm going to put that aside this once, if you let her go right now."

Jason saw that Kurama wasn't going to move in, which made him smile. Jason thought he had the upper hand. "She's my woman, and she's coming with me," he answered him.

"I'm not your woman!" Andrea answered, clocking her ex-boyfriend in the jaw. She couldn't do much with her other arm captive, but it was something.

Jason looked at his defiant "girlfriend." "You ungrateful little..." He grabbed Andrea around her throat and started to choke her.

Kurama grabbed Jason and kneed him in the stomach, which made Jason lose his hold on Andrea, who had now stumbled against the wall, coughing. Kurama saw his chance and lightly grabbed her other arm. He was going to get her out of there. "Come on!"

Andrea felt his hand grab her other arm and was about to say something along the lines of "Look out!" when she started coughing again, slightly shaking from her ordeal.

Kurama looked back and saw that Jason was about to go after him. He clocked his friend's ex hard, which made him stumble back. "Run!" He held one hand to Andrea's back, leading her ahead of him as they ran. After they had run for a few blocks, they stopped where they would be alone. "Are you all right?" he asked her, concerned about what happened.

Andrea held her neck and coughed. From the DDR game to now, she coughed more now than when she had the flu.

When the answer to his question was coughing, Kurama sat the girl on a bench not far from her apartment complex. "Let me see," he said, his voice different from a few minutes ago. When Andrea let the hand that covered her neck drop, he checked it. "Only some minor contusions. You were fortunate it wasn't as serious as it appeared."

Andrea tried to catch her breath. "It..." was all that she could get out before another coughing fit began.

Kurama looked around to see if he was alone. Seeing that he was indeed alone, he reached into his long crimson mane and pulled out a seed. "Here." He looked back at Andrea, who had now brought her hand back to her bruised neck. "It's a healing seed. It'll help with the lack of air."

From what had just happened to her, Andrea was a little stiff. "I don't know if I can move," she said to him.

Kurama nodded. "Can you open your mouth?"

"I'm talking, aren't I?" Andrea asked him, opening her mouth.

Kurama put the seed in her mouth. "Now suck on it for five minutes."

Giving Kurama the "I don't know what you're talking about, but okay" look, Andrea obeyed him and sucked on the seed like it was a cough drop.

Kurama looked around the street again, this time to see if he could sense where her ex-boyfriend was. _He's somewhere, _he thought to himself, turning back around. _No doubt he's waiting for her. But something about him wasn't right. _He noticed Andrea's free hand was slightly shaking. "You've faced worse then him, remember? He's nothing."

Andrea looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry I got you involved."

Kurama shook his head, disagreeing with her. "You didn't," he answered. "I got myself involved."

Andrea looked up at Kurama again, slight shock filling her features. Her blue eyes wondered the one word she asked him. "Why?"

Kurama smiled a warm smile, despite the temperature outside. "You're my friend. Why else would I not help you?"

"The way you looked..." Andrea stopped herself. She didn't want to say anything she'd regret. "...Nothing."

Kurama blinked. What was she about to say? _What's she not saying?_ he thought.

(Youko's Thoughts with Kurama)

Youko looked at him. "Were you dropped on your head as a child, Shuichi Minamino?" he asked him. "Why was she flirting with you earlier?"

Kurama gave him a look. "Hey! SOME people may be a hundred years old and an expert at this, but I'm new to this thing here okay!"

Youko looked at the girl on the bench beside him. "Look at the poor thing. She's trying to tell you something... something you might want to hear."

Kurama looked into her soul with his emerald gaze. "She doesn't want to tell me. I'm not forcing her. Let her tell when she feels it's right."

(Andrea's Mental Talk with Conscious)

Andrea hit the walls of her subconscious with her head. "What's wrong with me?" she asked.

Her conscious looked at her blushing form. "You've got a case of boyfriend-itis," she answered.

"I feel like I'm going to faint," Andrea said, about to go out.

"Hey!" Her conscious smacked her. "Stay awake!"

Andrea held her face. "Ouchie!"

(Back to Reality)

Andrea looked at Kurama after a few minutes of silence. "I guess lunch is out of the question," she said, breaking the silence.

Kurama nodded his head. "Yeah. Care to take a rain check?"

Andrea leaned against the back of the bench. "Sure," she answered.

Kurama was relieved she was all right, but still felt that she needed to rest after what she had endured. "I'll walk you to your place if you want," he said, standing to his feet and holding a hand out to help her up.

Andrea nodded her head and took Kurama's hand to stand up. "Thanks," she said. Even then, her mind wandered. _What am I supposed to say to him? I can't hurt the guy._

(Andrea's Mental Talk with Subconscious)

Her conscious filed her nails. "Just say you had a great time," she answered.

Andrea looked down. "If I can even talk." The answer made her conscious hit her again. "Ow!" She talked to herself. "What can you tell the person you care about after what's happened?"

(Kurama's Mental Talk with Youko)

Kurama, in the meantime, was looking at Andrea every twenty seconds before they arrived at Andrea's apartment. "She seems hesitant to answer questions. I won't pry into her thoughts."

Youko tapped his chin. "I have an idea: Ask her if you can stay over."

Kurama looked at Youko incredulously. "Are you out of your rocker! I can't ask her that!"

Youko winced. "Ears. It's strictly platonic, okay? I'm not asking you to fall on her. /4/"

Kurama shook his head. "Youko, I can't ask her over."

Youko popped the heel of his hand against his forehead. "I meant you staying at her place, Shuichi."

Kurama was trying not to turn red. "I can't ask that either!"

Youko stuck his finger in his ear. "Ow... any louder, and she'll hear you for sure."

"Youko, you've lived a hundred years, you do the math!"

(Back to Reality)

Andrea blinked, as the silence grew more and more frightening. _I'm about to ask the weirdest thing of all..._she thought. Aloud, she looked at him. "Uh, Kurama? Would you mind staying over tonight? I...I'll take the couch."

Kurama's eyes widened. _What in the... _he thought. "Stay over?" Kurama blinked. _What did Youko say to her? How did I get into this?_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

((How will this situation work out? Will Kurama agree, and to what extent? Find out next chapter.))

Author's Notes:

/1/ Dance Dance Revolution is a dancing game. It's a lot of fun when you're used to it.

/2/ Alvin from "Alvin and the Chipmunks." I loved that show when I was a kid.

/3/ Ogata Megumi's the Japanese voice of the Shuichi version of Kurama. Actually, I love her music. She's wonderful.

/4/ Youko was saying that he wasn't asking Kurama to lay down on her… in that way.

Cece: Well, that was an interesting chapter.

Kurama: If anyone guessed the ex-boyfriend, you were correct.

Cece: Sweets for all! (hands out candy)

Yusuke: RR… and pray she doesn't get TOO hyper.


	2. Secrets

Secrets

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: You already know; I said it over 20 times.))

Yusuke: So, does he stay over?

Cece: The chapter will tell that.

Yusuke: Hope he got some ideas….

Hiei: (hits Yusuke) Shut up, and let her write.

Cece: Thanks, Hiei! (smiles) Read on!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Andrea mentally kicked herself when she heard the confusion in Kurama's voice. Maybe she was asking for too much at one time. "Well, uh, if you don't want to, I'll understand," she said after the initial shock was about over.

Kurama blinked. "No! No, it's all right. I was just surprised," he answered her.

Andrea nodded her head. "Okay. I'll have the couch, okay?" she said to him while digging the keys for the door out of her coat pocket.

"I'll take the couch."

_Okay, this is really odd_, Andrea thought, but when she heard Kurama's answer, she stuttered, "W-what?"

Although Kurama wanted to laugh at Andrea's confused look, he didn't. "I'll take the couch, you can have the bed."

Andrea turned to look at him, even though her neck was hurting still from the abuse she sustained. "Are you sure?" she asked. When she saw him nod his head, she unlocked the door and opened it. _Okay, he's sleeping on the couch?_ she thought to herself. While her other half thought that Kurama was merely being a gentleman, she pulled the keys out of the door and almost dropped them. _What?_ she thought, keeping her hold on the keys.

Kurama noticed that she had gotten quiet; the reason was unknown to him. "Is that all right?" he asked her.

Andrea nodded, starting to walk in the door. "Yeah." She saw that Kurama hadn't moved. "I'm not going to bite." She walked further in the apartment with him following her. She sat on the arm of the couch while he sat in a chair. Silence ate at them for a few minutes until Andrea had an idea. "I could make some popcorn. You know, make up for this afternoon," she said.

Kurama nodded his head. The idea was actually a good one. "Sure. I can pick a show if you like," he suggested back.

The suggestion was an even better one. "Sounds great," Andrea answered as she got up from the couch and Kurama went to pick out a movie. As Andrea walked into the kitchen, her mind was flooding with a lot of thoughts.

(Andrea's Thoughts with Conscious)

"Okay, at least this is a different setting..." Andrea blinked. Was this really she talking? "Am I sounding like Youko here?"

Her other half shook her head. "Um, no, you're sounding like yourself."

Andrea's hand went to her bruised neck. "Maybe I should get some ice for that neck, too. He looked really concerned about it." She went ahead and started making the popcorn.

Her other half nodded. "Good idea. And get some ice for the soda too; they're warm."

Andrea got ice for the soda. "Why did Jason have to come back?"

Her other half shrugged. "I don't know. But now that he is, what are we going to do about it?"

Andrea thought about what Kurama had seen earlier that day. "I can't have Kurama involved any more than he is," she said, finding a small zip-lock bag and put several ice cubes in it.

"Right, so how are we NOT going to involve him?"

Andrea sighed. She knew Kurama had a mind of a steel trap and that he could probably figure out something was wrong. "I don't really know," she said, looking at Kurama very quickly and then looking away.

Her other half saw that Kurama didn't even notice the sudden glance. "Well, we can't tell him," she said.

Andrea brought a hand to her face. "This is so confusing," she complained.

"Tell me about it. I'm your other half, I get half the migraine."

"I don't know if he could hear this, but I hope he doesn't," Andrea said.

"He's not a telepath."

"Good."

(Back to Reality)

While Andrea was making the popcorn, Kurama was looking through Andrea's somewhat large collection. He thumbed through at least a dozen, including "Ringmaster" and "You Only Live Twice," which was a James Bond movie. As he saw the cover for "Coyote Ugly," he quickly thought not; he wouldn't give Youko the satisfaction. "Titanic?" Too long. He saw a movie called "Pet Semetary" and saw it wasn't opened.

Andrea looked into the living room at the back of Kurama's head. "So, uh, found anything?" she asked him.

Kurama nodded, holding the DVD in his hand. "Uh, yes, I hope you don't mind "Pet Semetary," he answered. "If you're not scared of things that go bump in the night, of course."

Andrea chuckled at Kurama's reference to vampires. "Kurama, I've seen 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'From Dusk Till Dawn.' I'm immune," she answered, thinking that "Pet Semetary" had vampires in it.

Kurama nodded his head. "Good, because I've seen uglier vampires then the ones on 'Blade.'

Andrea scratched her head. "Where?" she asked him_. Not that I have no idea what he's talking about_, she added to herself.

"Vampire City," the redhead answered her.

Andrea looked at Kurama, her blue eyes shining from the artificial light from above her in the kitchen. "And how do you know I'm not one?"

Kurama pointed out her window at the dark sky. "It's always dark in Vampire City," he answered her. He looked at Andrea as she pulled on a pair of sunglasses and faced him. Kurama couldn't help but try not to laugh. As Andrea smiled, revealing vampire teeth, he thought the joke was over. "Perhaps I shall find a stake and hammer."

Andrea took off her sunglasses and pouted at Kurama playfully. "Why?" As Kurama gave her a smirk, she took out the fake vampire teeth and started laughing. "You should've seen the look on your face."

Kurama nodded his head. "I believe I did. Shall we?" he asked, holding up the DVD.

Andrea nodded her head. "Okay." In her mind, she told herself,_ Oh, my God, I can't believe I pulled that._ Her conscious thought differently, but before she could ask it, Kurama put the DVD in while she grabbed the popcorn, drinks, and ice bag and went to the couch.

Kurama looked at the ice bag, his eyebrow raised. "What's the ice for?" he asked her. When Andrea pointed to her bruised neck, he nodded, the confusion subsiding.

Andrea lifted her legs onto the couch and put the ice bag on her neck. It stung for a few seconds, but the pain left. "Doubt I'd want to wear a scarf all day at school," she said.

Kurama nodded his head. "That's true," he answered, pressing play on the DVD remote.

Andrea kept the bag on her neck while she slid the popcorn between them. She wanted to avoid bodily contact if it was at all possible. "You knew I was kidding about the teeth, right?" she asked. When Kurama told her he did, she pouted slightly. "Aww…"

Kurama chuckled. She looked so cute when she pouted.

Andrea looked over at him. Oddly enough, no lamps were turned on and the light from the TV made Kurama's face change different colors, his eyes turn from emerald to sandy and back to emerald, and his red mane look darker than usual. "What if I were to tell you I might go as a vampire for Halloween?"

Kurama looked over at Andrea, mostly to make sure she was all right. The Youko in him, however, was noticing that without the lights on, the female Tantei looked even more mysterious. Her blue eyes looked darker, her skin changed colors rapidly and her hair looked almost black. Kurama mentally pushed the Youko back in his mind. "I wouldn't mind that at all," he answered.

Andrea's eyes lit up like Christmas lights. "Really?" she asked, and she saw Kurama nod his head, which made her relax. That is, until there was a scene where the cat that had been brought back killed a man by biting his neck. She yelped and latched onto Kurama's arm almost like a little girl. When she saw Kurama looking down at her, she blinked and let go.

(Andrea's Thoughts with Conscious)

Andrea kicked herself, almost appalled with what she had done. "What in the name of Enma was I just doing?" she asked.

Her conscious giggled; she loved seeing Andrea so surprised. "You latched onto him!"

Andrea started to look pale. She never thought she'd do something like that, especially to Kurama. "I didn't mean to," she answered.

Her conscious rolled her eyes. "Of COURSE you didn't mean to!" she came back. "We don't mean to latch onto the guy we think is the hottest in the world."

Andrea grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it while planting her face into it. "I hope he didn't notice."

Her conscious wanted to lie to her human half. "Oh, he noticed."

Embarrassment and fear rose through Andrea's spine. She could only hope and pray to Enma that Kurama thought it meant nothing. "Any idea how to drown yourself?"

(Youko's Talk with Kurama)

Youko looked at the recoiling girl and scoffed. "Wow, and I thought she was immune to 'things that go bump in the night', Shuichi," he said.

Kurama rolled his emerald eyes at Youko's sarcasm. "That are most often exaggerated," he answered.

"And she just let go and bunched into a ball... with an ice pack on her neck," Youko said. "It's not like I'm going to bite her."

"She was probably shy."

Youko nodded. "Yeah, that or she's scared of a movie."

"Some people are. But she's faced worst. Remember?" Kurama asked.

Youko's gaze turned almost deadly. "Don't remind me. Karasu could've... you know," he answered.

Kurama knew what he meant… all too well. He was actually thankful that he was able to stop Karasu from killing her. "Yes, he could have."

(Back to Reality)

All of a sudden, the phone rang, which made Andrea jump to her feet and Kurama glance at the ringing phone. "I'll get it," she said, going to the cordless phone and picking it up to answer it. "Hello?"

On the other end, Yusuke gave a weak imitation of the guy from "Scream." "What's your favorite scary movie?"

Andrea rolled her blue eyes, unimpressed and a little annoyed at Yusuke at the moment. "How about "'Detective Sings Falsetto When I See Him'?" She looked at Kurama, who had started to chuckle into his hand.

Yusuke jumped back into his normal voice. It took a lot to scare Andrea, but Yusuke wasn't doing a good job of it. "How'd she figure that out?"

Andrea looked almost very annoyed at the Detective on the other end. "I may have lived from Karasu's attack, but don't think I won't kick your butt." She looked at Kurama's still chuckling form and tried not to laugh herself.

Yusuke heard Kurama chuckling and smirked. "Hey, is that fox-boy over there? Oh, did I interrupt something?" He said the last sentence as if he thought they were up to something.

Andrea tried not to hang up on Yusuke. "Yusuke... don't make Kurama hang you from a Death Tree again."

"Yeah, still hurt from the last one."

Kurama shook his head. "He deserved it."

Andrea nodded, winking at Kurama. "Oh, isn't Keiko on the other line?" she asked.

Yusuke's eyes widened. "Oh, crap!" With that, he hung up.

Andrea hung up as well, but now she was almost ready to fall on the floor, laughing. "Baka yarou, Urameshi."

Kurama chuckled at the way she handled the phone call. "How did you know Keiko was on the other line?" he asked her.

Andrea shrugged her shoulders, and as she turned her head to the door, she saw something sliding under the door.

Kurama noticed the same something slide under the door and looked at her. "It was a guess?" he asked her.

"I guess," Andrea answered, walking to the door and picked up the mail. "The usual junk," she said, but as she saw another letter, she blinked, more or less stunned.

Kurama saw the look on her face and immediately looked concerned. "What is it?" he asked her. The only answer he got was that he saw Andrea tear open the envelope and lean against the wall. The silence was getting to him; something had to be wrong. He walked up to her. "Andrea?"

Andrea bunched the letter in her hand, half from instinct, but also half for Kurama not to figure out what it said. _It's him again_, she thought to herself.

(Andrea's Thoughts with Conscious)

Her conscious shook her head. "Can't tell him."

Andrea sighed, a little more nervous now. "I just hate keeping things from everyone," she answered.

"Hyphenate it."

Andrea knocked her hand to her head. "How? He looks like a hawk looking at me right now."

"Give tidbits to him. That way you're not really lying."

At the word "lying," Andrea looked stunned and upset. "Like what? 'It's just a prank letter?' He'll figure it out! He's not stupid!"

"A letter, from an acquaintance."

Andrea hated lying, and it looked like the only way for Kurama not to get any more involved than he already was. " I don't have a choice; I have to tell him the truth. Or else it'll be like last time, only reversed." The thought of hurting him after he saved her life still hurt and angered her; she never really meant to.

"We agreed to not tell him."

Andrea shook her head. "I've never kept anything from him, and I can't start now. Now that Kurama could be the next target for Jason."

"He'll go protective on you."

Andrea's emotions got the better of her. She felt like she was between a rock and a hard place. "What choice do I have? If he doesn't know, and he knows that I'm lying to him, which he'll know, everything will go down the tubes."

Her conscious felt like slapping the ignorant Tantei. "Girl, do you want him protecting you all your life? Are you a Reikai Tantei or not?"

Andrea rolled her eyes. "Hello! I couldn't do any fighting in Orlando, remember?" she almost screamed.

"But there weren't any demons in Orlando."

Andrea gave her conscious a blank stare. "That's my point." Hearing her conscious give a dejected sigh, she came back to reality.

(Back to Reality)

Andrea looked at the bunched-up letter in her hand. "Oh! It's just a prank letter, that's all," she answered him. _And I just lied to him_, she added to herself.

The concern didn't leave Kurama's features. He still had a thought that something was wrong… and that something was the thing Andrea wasn't talking about. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

Andrea's heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest; she had to stay calm and to not let anything slip, although it was hard to do that. "Yep," she answered, tossing the note and envelope in the garbage.

Although Kurama had a suspicion that Andrea wasn't really telling the truth, he didn't say it in front of her. "All right. I left the movie on pause if you want to return watching it?" As Andrea nodded and sat back on the couch, Kurama followed her… with one thought running through his head, _Did she just lie to me?_

The Youko in his head shrugged. "I dunno. Though she looked kind of upset when she saw that letter."

Kurama glanced at the letter in the garbage, then to Andrea, who looked like she was trying everything in her power to not explode about what the letter she threw away said. _Something is not right_, he thought to himself.

(Youko's Talk with Kurama)

Youko scratched his head. "You said it, not me. Sounds like she's trying to keep something in."

Kurama's eyes took a more concentrating look. "Yes, but what exactly could it be?" he asked.

"Probably about that Jason jerk..." Youko had a look in his gold like colored eyes. "I'd love to hang _him_ from a Death Tree..."

Kurama nodded, although the treatment, in his view, wasn't what he had in mind. "I second that. But if it is that, we can't help her."

"Unless she fesses up and says what the letter said."

Kurama shook his head. "I doubt it," he answered.

(Back to Reality)

Andrea felt the pressure of lying to him get larger on her; her hands were clammy, her eyes were darting in every direction except on Kurama, who she could feel his emerald eyes on her, mentally forcing the truth out of her. _I'm telling him... I don't have a choice_, he thought, although the thought of him being protective was better than with her dead. She took a deep breath, though it was shaky, and said in a low voice, " 'I'm going to take you back to Orlando with me, and that girly man you're with isn't going to stop me. Either you come with me, or I'll kill the redhead.' "

Kurama looked at her. No wonder this was tearing at her mentally. It was a threat against his life for literally taking Jason's ex-girlfriend away from him. If it was one thing Kurama didn't like, it was being threatened. He fought really hard to keep the Youko in him at bay; he didn't want to say anything to Andrea that he would regret later. He didn't care how far he was involved; he now had to keep her safe and away from her ex. His means, though, were a different matter.

Andrea looked at Kurama, halfway regretting what she had just said by just looking at his eyes. "That's what the letter said exactly."

(Youko's Talk with Kurama)

Youko looked angry… and with a good reason. "I knew it! That bastard's trying to take our mate! Now, where's that Sinning Tree?"

"Left ear..." When Kurama heard the "m" word, however, his emerald eyes widened in shock and also looked at Youko. "Whoa! Wait! What was that!"

Youko rolled his eyes. "Let me up it in words you can understand, Red. Jason jerk wants Andrea to go back to Orlando with him, or he'll kill you. He's using you to make her do what he wants."

Kurama shook his head. "No, a few words after that. I believe it starts with an 'M.'"

Youko smacked his hand on his head. "Don't tell me you haven't thought of her as your mate. Enma, are you dense?"

"Youko, she's just a friend, nothing more!"

Youko looked at his human counterpart unbelievingly. "Riiiiiiight. Then how come you were flirting with her earlier today?"

The question caught Kurama off-guard. "I...don't have to answer that."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

(Back to Reality)

Andrea turned away from Kurama and clenched her hands, her fingernails almost breaking the skin. She lowered her head, wishing that she didn't tell him, but also wishing he wasn't looking at her. "I'm sorry," she said in a low voice.

Kurama shook his head; he knew that she had to tell him, but he didn't mean to scare her into apologizing. "It's not your fault," he answered.

"I brought you into my dilemma," Andrea said, reaching one hand under the cushion and feeling underneath it.

Kurama continued to look at her; his eyes now looking more worried than upset. "I brought myself."

Andrea felt metal under the couch and pulled her hand out from under the cushion almost as if she were shocked. "I didn't need to. I mean you already had enough on you. With Karasu and your family, you know. I just don't want you involved more than you are."

Kurama grabbed Andrea's hand lightly, seeing the fingers of her hand relaxing, which was a good sign. "Andrea, if you're in trouble, I want to help," he answered. "And as far as I'm concerned, I'm already involved just as much as you right now." He looked at Andrea, who had now nodded her head and was trying to smile. "You can trust me, Andrea, right?"

Andrea nodded her head. With all that could happen, she needed someone she could trust, and, mentally, she thanked Enma it wasn't Yusuke. "Hai," she answered.

Kurama's hold on her hand went a little tighter; a "hold of reassurance" would be the correct term. "I'll protect you."

Andrea looked at him, her eyes still a little worried as to what Jason could do to Kurama. "Even though you know what he could do?" she asked him.

Kurama nodded reassuringly. "I am not afraid of him."

Andrea was probably the first person to be shocked at how he was handling this. Other guys would've either burned the letter or killed the guy already. "What about the letter?" she asked him.

Kurama looked down at her. "You think I would be intimidated by a few little words?" he asked, leaning back on the couch.

Andrea grabbed her throw pillow and held it near her. "Well, I did see your face when Yusuke said something about you," she answered.

Kurama chuckled into his free hand; he knew what Yusuke kept trying to do. "Yes, well, that's Yusuke. This is an entirely different matter," he said.

Andrea let the words sink in as she watched the movie. The thing she didn't notice, however, was that she was now lying against him. "I know," she said to him.

Kurama felt the slight pressure on him but paid no mind to it. "I assure you, we'll be fine," he said, looking down at the girl on the couch with him.

"I trust you… Shuichi Minamino," Andrea answered, using his human name. Ironically, for a Tantei to have good reflexes, she still didn't notice that she was still reclining on Kurama.

Slightly chuckling at her use of his human name, Kurama let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her while watching the movie, which was over in thirty minutes. Kurama looked to his side, about to let Andrea know the movie was now over but saw she was asleep. He patted Andrea on the shoulder, but she didn't wake up. "Oh, well, I suppose one night never harmed anyone," he said to himself.

(Youko's Talk with Kurama)

Youko pumped his fist in the air. "All right, Shuichi!" he said to his human counterpart. "Now, which place to kiss her goodnight…"

Kurama smacked him upside the head. "Just let her sleep, Youko!"

(Back to Reality)

Kurama pulled a throw pillow behind his head and fell asleep soon after.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

((Is Jason's letter to Andrea a joke? What happens when Kurama and Andrea wake up in the morning? Find out in the next chapter!))

Yusuke: Aww… that's so cute…

Cece: (hits him) Shut up!

Kurama: Read and review here. Before we have a fight on our hands. (sweatdrops)


	3. Danger Upon Instinct

Danger Upon Instinct

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: If I owned Yu Yu Hakusho, do you think I'd be writing about them? I'd be married to Kurama and … Well, I don't own it, so no one can sue me.))

Cece: Sorry it's taken so long to get back on it; I have another new one out. "Experiences of a Tantei." But this is my pride and joy, so I'm sticking to this.

Yusuke: First time she's stuck to anything…

Kurama: (whaps Yusuke with hand) Yusuke!

Cece: Keep reading. As for me, I'm watching the fight. Oh, this is going to be a LONG chapter. I'm coming back to this story.

Hiei: There's a new key to follow: _this_ is for Kurama/Andrea's thoughts and **this** is for Youko's thoughts and the girl's conscious. (looks at Cece eating popcorn)

Kurama: Someone's writing this chapter, young lady.

(Everyone looks at Cece, who laughs nervously)

Cece: Uh, I'll write so enjoy!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hearing the birds chirping outside the window, Andrea sleepily opened one blue eye and looked around. _Why's everything slanted?_ she asked herself as she leaned her head against a "pillow." _Enma knows this pillow's too hard._ She tried fluffing the "pillow" before laying back down as she heard a slight grunting noise… and it wasn't far away. She blinked. _Wait a minute; pillows don't talk…_ was the thought going through her head as she looked at a hand over her. _Holy Enma!_ she screamed inwardly as she gently pulled the arm off of her and set it on the couch as she went to her room and closed the door to think. Once inside, Andrea let out a horrified scream. _"What just happened!"_

"**Oh, you mean with Kurama? You two slept on the couch together. Go, girl!"**

"_WHAT!"_

Her conscious couldn't help but laugh at the situation. **"You heard me**."

"_We were fully clothed, stupid!"_

"**I know, but it's still a good step."**

"_This cannot be happening."_

"**Believe me, it is."**

Andrea fell onto her bed, not believing what was happening. _"I must have had that sake." /1/_

"**What sake? You had no sake!"**

"_Then, how do you explain falling asleep on Kurama?"_

"**Easy: you fell asleep!"**

Meanwhile, while Andrea screamed, Kurama's emerald green eyes snapped open and as he tried to regain his balance, he fell face-first to the floor. _What on Earth…?_ Kurama thought to himself as he was trying to place where the scream came from and why.

"…**Was that scream? Oh, just a screaming girl. Way to go, Kurama!" **Youko received a hand upside his head for his comment. **"What?"**

"_Kitsune no hentai!" _ Kurama was not really happy with what Youko had said.

"**What's wrong with that? You like the girl, don't you?"**

Kurama shook his head at Youko's pitiful attempt at a reason. _"You're just as bad as Yusuke."_

"**At least he's not shy about liking someone."**

"_He still hasn't told Keiko yet, you know, and it's been five years!"_

"**Well, you've known Andrea for a year and a half. What are you waiting for, a written invitation?"** As Kurama popped him again, he pushed the redhead up on the couch again. **"Well, she's probably putting the blame on herself again. Can't let that happen, right?"**

Kurama really didn't like the way this conversation was heading. _"What's in that perverted brain of yours now?"_

"**Nothing... just pushing you to her room to see if she's okay."**

Kurama's eyes widened at the response. _"Youko! I can't go to her room! What if she's getting dressed?"_

"**Kurama, you idiot! She was already dressed last night."**

"_Then, what if she's changing!"_

"**Okay, genius. What was she wearing last night?"**

Kurama thought about this for a second_. "I believe it was a light blue shirt, khakis, and her blue tennis shoes."_

"**Who knows? Maybe she's trying to get it through her head."** Youko thought for a second. **"You know, it probably shocked her."**

Kurama blinked. SHE was shocked? _"Shocked her? I woke up like a WW2 soldier!" /2/_

"**Glad to hear it."**

Kurama popped Youko upside his head again. _"It was your fault! You and your instincts!"_

Youko rubbed his head, smirking. **"Well, you did tell me to let her sleep. I just didn't tell you how."**

Kurama was still fighting Youko's urges to go to Andrea's room that he didn't notice footsteps in the small kitchen.

"Coffee?"

Andrea's voice seemed to snap him out of it. He had no idea how long he was awake or how long he was on the couch, but he was thankful to hear her voice at that moment. "Huh?" He blinked, snapping out of it entirely. "Oh, yes, thank you."

In his mind, Youko was smiling. **"You still like her."**

Kurama rolled his eyes in front of him. _"I heard that."_

"Okay," Andrea complied and started making a pot of coffee. _I can't draw any attention to myself,_ she thought as she thought of a topic to talk about, since the silence was getting to both of them. "So, um, is the weather on?"

Kurama looked at the blank TV, remembering that he did turn off the TV before he fell asleep. "I don't believe so," he answered. "Did you want it on?"

Andrea looked at him intently. "Unless you want to freeze outside," she answered.

"**But that'll be okay,"** Youko said in Kurama's mind. **"I'll hold her to keep her warm…"**

While Kurama mentally popped the Youko in him, he nodded outwardly. "I'll turn it on," he said, finding the remote under the barrage of popcorn and turned the TV on.

Andrea smiled at him. "Thanks," she said to him.

Kurama nodded while he wondered why Youko was acting so strange. _"What's with you? Are you starting to like her or something?"_

Youko nodded. **"Mm-hmm. She's got a nice figure."**

Andrea leaned against the counter, dressed in a peach colored cardigan with a black top underneath and white jeans. Her bobbed reddish-brown hair lay gracefully on her shoulders and her blue eyes looked slightly clearer. "So, what did it say?" she asked him.

Kurama was looking at the TV, trying to block out what Youko was thinking. "Low into the 40s," he answered. "No snow. Too bad."

"What?" Andrea couldn't believe her ears. "You wanted some snow?"

Kurama couldn't believe _his_ ears. "Something wrong with snow?"

Andrea shook her head. "Nothing's wrong with it," she answered. "Try living in Florida for a year."

"Can't imagine living in a place without the four seasons," Kurama answered her. He looked at her. "It's a Youko habit, you see."

"In that case, you'd want to stay out of Florida and Hawaii," Andrea answered him back.

Kurama chuckled lightly in his hand. "I'll take your advice on that," he said.

"Thanks," she answered, grabbing two coffee cups and looking at the coffee pot, which was filling at a good pace. "Believe me, Florida's nice, but try surviving ten hurricanes."

Kurama shook his head. "I can't imagine that, but try the earthquakes here."

Andrea laughed slightly. "Fighting over the weather now?"

"Seems so," Kurama answered, chuckling into his hand again.

Andrea looked intensely at Kurama, studying his face carefully. "From one curious mind to another, how do you tame that Youko side of yours?" she asked him.

"Oh, it's not that hard," Kurama answered her as honestly as he could. "You just have to know how to handle him." _With a couple of lumps to his head,_ he added in his head.

Andrea looked to her side and saw that the coffee was ready. She grabbed the two cups and set them side-by-side. "Anything interesting he said while I was away?" she asked, pouring the black liquid into the two cups.

Kurama felt his heart start beating wildly in his chest, almost as if he were standing on trial. "Uh, no, nothing in particular," he answered, trying to retain his calm manner.

"Well, could be worse," Andrea answered, putting the pot back on the stove. She picked up the two cups of coffee and walked into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, she handed him one of the two cups.

Kurama took the offered cup and nodded his head in agreement. "True, I could be talking to Yusuke," he replied back to her.

Andrea tried to keep from laughing. "That knucklehead?" she asked him. "Sounds like Youko's a tougher one to handle." She took a sip from her cup.

_You have no idea,_ Kurama thought in his mind as he took a sip from his coffee as well. "Not really," he answered her outwardly.

Youko, though, did not like the line he was fed. **"What was that, Shuichi?"**

"_You heard me, Youko."_

Andrea looked into the black liquid in the cup as if she could find another subject to talk about. She bit the inside of her mouth, a nervous habit by some, as her fingers nervously yet gracefully tapped the cup in her hands. "Um…" Her voice started off choked, more nervous than what she had wanted. "Look, about last night…"

Youko knew what she was talking about. **"I liked it, too,"** he said before Kurama popped him in the head.

"Yes?" Kurama asked her, thanking Enma that Youko didn't say too much.

Hearing Kurama's voice only made Andrea feel even more nervous. She really didn't plan to fall asleep against him; maybe the popcorn had gotten to her head. "Um, sorry about that."

Kurama smiled reassuringly at her; he knew what she was apologizing for, but what he didn't know was why. But he wouldn't force it out of her. "It wasn't your fault," he answered her.

Andrea took a deep sigh of relief. Now that the air was clear of anything from last night, it was time to get out of the house… well, apartment, really. "Well, now that that's out of the way, hopefully there's something we can do that involves people," she suggested.

Kurama thought for a second. "Well, there's always the movies…"

"**That she fell asleep on you last night,"** Youko finished, a teasing glint in his golden eyes. **"Come on, you liked it, too."**

"_Youko…."_ Kurama was about three inches from turning him into a piñata.

"Nothing too, you know…" Andrea was trying to think of an appropriate word for "so romantic it makes me sick." "…Mushy."

"Well, there's 'X-Men'," Kurama suggested. /3/

Andrea blinked her eyes. Of all the movies she had seen in America but not Japan, this was not one of them. "How'd you know?" she asked him.

Kurama's emerald green eyes looked at her in a somewhat knowing glance. "Easy, Hugh Jackman."

Andrea looked at Kurama, a teasing glint in her eyes. "What, the great Shuichi Minamino's afraid of some competition?" she asked him, smiling as if she enjoyed watching the kitsune squirm.

Kurama raised an eyebrow at her, teasing Andrea right back. "Maybe, but maybe not," he answered, his green eyes glittering like two valuable emeralds.

The teasing game was too fun to stop at the moment. "Oh! And I guess that makes Halle Berry my competition, right?"

At those words, Kurama's eyes went wide as he choked on the coffee he was drinking at the moment.

Andrea hid a laugh behind her hand as she set her cup on a coaster. "The look on your face, it was priceless," she said, trying to stop laughing.

_Not to mention my death,_ Kurama thought to himself as Andrea stopped laughing as well and was growing concerned about him.

Youko, though, was paying no attention. **"Halle Berry,"** he said, licking his lips and letting out a purr.

"_Aren't you a little old for her? Maybe by a few hundred years?"_

"**Aren't you a little young for her?"**

Andrea patted Kurama on the back; the laughter exiting her eyes and concerned entering them easily. "Are you all right?" she asked, her voice growing more concerned by the second.

Kurama turned his head to look at Andrea's concerned face. He knew then that she didn't mean to do what she did. "Yes, the coffee almost went into my lungs for a second there," he answered and saw Andrea's face calm back down to normal, more relieved than normal.

"Maybe the next time I make a joke, I'll make sure you're not drinking anything," she said, smiling almost like her usual self.

Kurama nodded his head. "Probably a good idea," he answered her.

Andrea leaned back against the couch, even more relieved that nothing really serious happened. "So, what time does it start?" she asked him.

"The matinee starts at noon, I think," Kurama answered her as he saw Andrea sit upright.

"And what time is it now?" she asked, looking for her watch.

Kurama checked the clock that sat on a small table on the other side of the couch. "It's just after nine…" Just then, he realized he never called his mother to let him know where he was! "Oh, Enma! I forgot to call Mother!"

Andrea fell off the couch as the realization came to her head. "Nani?"

"I forgot to call Mother and tell her I was staying over!" Kurama's normally calm features now turned somewhat panicky. "She'll be worried sick!"

Youko rolled his eyes. **"You forgot to call your mother?"**

"_Okay, unlike some people, our mothers don't toss them at a week old."_

Youko looked slightly hurt. **"Ouch, that's hitting below the belt."**

Andrea had scrambled back onto the couch and found her cordless phone. Finding it and checking it to make sure it wasn't dead, she handed it to him. "I'm sorry," she said to him.

Kurama's hand grabbed the phone… but also graced Andrea's fingers slightly. Keeping himself from blushing like a fool, he looked at her. "It's not your fault; it's mine," he answered and proceeded to call his mother.

Youko rolled his eyes again and popped the redhead upside his head. **"You got that right."**

"_Ow!"_

Andrea looked in her purse to make sure she had everything in it that she needed. Her wallet, ID, everything that she wanted in there was in there.

Meanwhile, at the Minamino home, Shiori was washing clothes when the phone rang. She set the basket down and went to get the phone, which was in the kitchen. On the third ring, she answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mother," Kurama said from the other line. "It's Shuichi."

Shiori looked at a clock not far from the phone. "Oh, hi dear."

"I'm sorry I didn't call you last night," Kurama started his apology, and with a mental note to Youko to not say anything, he continued. "I had gotten hung up on some things."

Shiori knew about how much studying her son had on him while in college, so she was able to understand a night away from home would do him some good. "It's all right, Shuichi," she answered warmly. "I figured you'd need a night away from all the stress you're under."

Kurama smiled, knowing that his mother wasn't going to ground him. /4/ "Thank you," he said, his voice sounding relieved. "I'll be back sometime this afternoon."

"Be careful out there, Shuichi," came his mother's reply. "I love you."

Kurama mentally popped Youko before answering her. "I will. You too." After they exchanged their goodbyes, they hung up.

Andrea looked at Kurama, blinking at how short the conversation was. "So, is everything okay?" she asked him.

As Kurama nodded, his crimson bangs swished in front of his emerald green eyes. "Yes; she said I should have some time away."

"You can sure use some time away from Yusuke, definitely," Andrea answered with a hint of sarcasm that made Kurama chuckle lightly. "Think maybe I should give Yusuke a push in Keiko's direction?"

"I don't feel it's necessary," he told her. "Keiko's doing fine on her own."

Andrea shrugged her shoulders in a surrendering look. "Okay, but he's getting payback one of these days."

Kurama's green eyes glittered, hearing Andrea's suggestion. "Just make sure to take Hiei with you," he replied. "He's been planning revenge for weeks."

Andrea blinked her eyes in confusion. "What for?"

"Yusuke winning their first fight. I believe it was Yusuke's first mission too."

Andrea couldn't believe that she forgot about that. "Oh, right," she said as Kurama nodded. She found her black boots and pulled them on. "So, any secret routes you want to take?"

Kurama's eyes now took a thoughtful look as for an answer. "Mostly alleyways, but buildings do nicely also," he answered her.

The confusion was on her face more. "Buildings?" she echoed.

Kurama shrugged at her confused voice. "I used to do some building hopping when I was younger," he explained. "Kept up with my training."

Maybe wearing boots while jumping roofs wasn't a good idea. "Well, in that case, let me bring my rosary, a good pair of shoes, and a coat," she said, finding a better pair of shoes and pulling them on while hearing Kurama try not to laugh. "Now, where's that rosary?"

Kurama couldn't believe that she was serious about the rosary. "Andrea, you're not Catholic," he said to her.

Andrea looked at him while continuing her search. "Well, if I'm jumping buildings, I need something," she answered, though mentally Andrea was starting to get weirded out. _Like some Prozac._

Her consciousness, however, was thrilled at jumping roofs, although her outward side didn't. **"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"**

"'_Jumping Buildings with Kurama...' Wow... sounds like tons of fun,"_ she thought sarcastically.

"**Where's your sense of adventure?"**

"_Got knocked out of me by a son of a bitch ex-boyfriend that we all hate."_

"**Then let me knock it back in!"** With that, she knocked Andrea back to the real world.

Andrea had now entered the kitchen, forgetting about the fake rosary and finding her bottle. "Oh, it was here all along," she said, taking out two pills and pulling a bottle of water from the fridge. She popped the pills in her mouth and drank the water behind it.

"Ready?"

Kurama's soft alto snapped the girl out of her daze as she grabbed her coat and purse. "As ready as I'll ever be," she answered, still unsure about the roof hopping in store.

Kurama nodded his head and took his coat as well.

However, she had a horrible fear rising into her chest_. "Great... building jumping and I'm scared of heights."_

Her brain was fighting the urge to call a taxi. "**Just don't look down."**

Inside, Andrea was freaking out. _"Hard to do that."_

"**No it's not. Just keep your eyes straight. You don't know what you'll find up there. A lot of neater stuff then on the ground."**

Andrea thought of Yusuke. _"Like a moron Detective?"_

"**No! Like a very nice view of the city, or maybe the morning sky?"**

"_It's about 11."_

"**Still morning."**

"_I'll just hope nothing goes wrong today."_

"**I'm sure everything will be fine."** That was the last thought she had before she pulled on her coat, suddenly feeling a chill run down her spine and trying to hide it at the same time.

Kurama looked at her. "Ready?"

Andrea nodded her head. "Yeah," she answered, making a mental threat to her brain about Kurama and herself as she grabbed a tiny bottle and stuffed it in the pocket of her coat.

Kurama pulled his coat on over him, not in time to see Andrea stuff something into her pocket. "Shall we?" he asked her.

Andrea grabbed the keys to the apartment. "Yep."

Kurama opened the door and waved his arm outside as if he were a general in an army to a Southern belle. "Ladies first."

"You're spoiling me, aren't you?" Andrea asked as she walked out the door, keeping a small giggle in her throat.

"Yes I am," Kurama answered as he closed the door behind them.

Youko was starting to think, yet again, about the two together. **"All you need is wine and roses and she's all yours."**

Kurama mentally popped Youko in the head. _"Can it, Youko!"_

A serious air surrounded them, and it made Andrea a little hesitant about leaving today. Kurama had al of a sudden become quiet again. "Anything wrong?" Her voice started turning towards worry as she looked at him.

Feeling Andrea's blue eyes on him snapped the redhead out of his reverie. "Oh, nothing's wrong."

Andrea dug into her pockets and felt the small bottle inside. _"Good it's there."_

Her conscious rolled her eyes. "**You put it there five minutes ago."**

"_Don't want him to know about it."_

"**Something tells me he does."**

Andrea rolled her eyes. _"Just be grateful it's not a gun."_ When the pair arrived on the roof, Andrea took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

Kurama looked at her. "You'll lose them, you know."

"I know," she said, taking them off. "Vampire teeth-free today."

Kurama chuckled from her joke last night about the vampire, almost forgetting what had happened. "Well, are you ready?"

Andrea nodded, looking at Kurama with a mix of seriousness and joking in her eyes. "You know, if I get killed, I know a few people from the Mafia."

Kurama started laughing, knowing that she was kidding. "I fear for my life," he answered her.

Andrea smiled, probably one of the first since last night. "I'm kidding. I don't know anyone from the Mafia," she said.

"I know that. The Mafia hasn't been public for fifty or so years."

"Although the Russian one's still active..." Andrea looked around thoughtfully. Maybe she'd stop watching cop shows for a while.

Kurama looked at Andrea's thoughtful look. "Shall we start? It's really very easy."

Andrea came out of her thoughts, hearing his voice. "Yeah, although jumping roofs isn't exactly my idea of a shortcut," she said.

"It is for Hiei; he gets around a lot that way. In fact, I showed it to him."

Andrea looked at her frame, which she had a small yet athletic frame. "One itsy-bitsy problem here: I'm a human. Broken limbs don't look good on me."

Kurama smirked in her direction. As for it was either Youko or himself smiling, he let it slide. "Care for a piggy back?"

Andrea shrugged her shoulders. "I don't mind."

Kurama nodded. "Then that shall be it."

Andrea looked at him, crossing her arms against her chest. "Remember, Minamino... I get killed, I ask for Mafia from the grave."

Kurama chuckled and crouched down for the girl to get on his back. "I'll remember," he answered.

Andrea almost struggled to get on Kurama's back, due to the fact they were both wearing coats, but then decided to grab onto his shoulders from under his arms. "I'll make sure you do."

Inside Kurama's head, Youko shook his head. **"Kurama, scared of a Mafia?"**

Kurama rolled his eyes. _"Reikai forbid."_

"**You know she's thinking of the Russian one. They're still in business."**

"_Youko scared of a few Russians?"_

"**Reikai forbid."**

Pleased that he had beat Youko, he looked at Andrea, who had now gotten settled. "You ready?" he asked her, wrapping his arms around the under part of her knees.

Still giggling about the Mafia joke, Andrea nodded her head.

"Hold on tight," he said, jumping high.

Andrea held on for dear life. "You know I was kidding about the Russian Mafia, right?" she asked him.

"Sure I do," he answered, landing on another roof and then jumping again.

Andrea propped her chin against his shoulder. "Now... about the Japanese one..."

Inside Kurama's mind, Youko busted out laughing. **"She's a keeper, Shuichi."**

"_I have to agree," _was his thought before he answered outwardly. "I think Yusuke's mother could help you out on that one. She knows the Yakuza like the back of her own beer bottle."

"Yusuke's a whole Mafia right there. So is Kuwabara when you tick him off enough." As she heard Kurama laugh and felt him land and jump again, she continued. "And then you have Hiei..." Andrea shuddered lightly. "He's a whole Mafia in himself."

Kurama laughed as he landed again and jumped again. "True."

"And then there's you... you could probably take on the whole Mafia alone," Andrea said, blinking in realization with what she just said. "Though I'm not asking you to."

"I don't fight without a reason."

"I know," Andrea said, and that was when her voice lowered and turned somber almost immediately. "Yesterday was a good enough reason..." She felt around her neck where she was almost choked the day before. Though it was still bruised, she was fine.

As Kurama landed on another roof, he remembered what had happened, how her ex-boyfriend had struck her in front of him and almost killed her as well. "Yes. It was," he said before jumping to another roof.

"There's something about him you need to know," she said to him.

Kurama kept his eyes forward, not wanting anything to happen to her. "What may that be?" he asked her.

"This wasn't the first time he's done this."

It was then that Kurama had heard Andrea's voice change, and he knew what that meant. "I considered that possibility," he answered. "But I didn't want to press unhappy memories on you."

Andrea shook her head. "It's okay. Better than bottling them up and then unleashing it to people you care about."

"True." Kurama landed on another roof. "We can go down from here."

Andrea got off of his back and let go of his jacket-covered shoulders. She bit her lip, thinking of another topic. "I know I'm changing the subject, but if you could have one mutant power, what would it be?"

"I think I'm happy with the abilities I've got," Kurama answered her question. "It's what makes them who I am."

"**Though x-ray vision doesn't sound that bad..."** Youko said.

"_Youko..."_

A smile slowly graced her face. "I know one I'd want," she announced.

Kurama's curiosity was getting aroused. "Do tell."

"And don't laugh," Andrea said, giving Kurama a jokingly warning glance. "I'd wish for the power to read minds."

Youko was impressed. **"Though that's not bad, either..."** That received a fist upside his head by his human half.

"I'm afraid Hiei already beat you to it," Kurama answered.

"I know," Andrea said, thinking of something different. "Maybe the power to control the weather'll be nice."

Kurama chuckled into his hand. In a way, it wouldn't be so bad. "Reikai forbid the floods it will have on your wrath!"

Andrea nodded. "Yeah, poor Koenma... he'd have a field day." Andrea looked at her watch. "Well, better get inside unless freezing to death's in your resume."

Kurama's normally calm face now had a teasingly thoughtful expression, almost as if Youko were trying to come out. "I don't think it is."

Andrea looked at Kurama, smiling. "Glad we agree on something," she replied, opening the door to let Kurama ahead of her before following him and closing the door behind them.

Once they arrived out of the building, they looked around while Kurama looked in a direction. "Theater's just a block and a half away," he said.

Andrea looked at Kurama. "Good," she answered him. "Now, what would I do with the power to control the weather?" /4/

Kurama tapped a finger to his chin in thought. "Stop droughts?"

Andrea nodded her head. "Yep. That and make Russia not so cold."

"And maybe there'd actually be ice in Iceland."

Andrea tried not to laugh. "And maybe some green in Greenland." As Kurama chuckled to that, she continued. "And make Florida not have hurricanes there."

Kurama nodded. "No tsunamis along the coasts."

Andrea looked around, looking slightly down. "Yeah. It's a shame," she said, looking back at him with blue eyes sparkling like the sky. "You know, if I get a million dollars, it's going there."

Kurama nodded at her charitable look. "I'd back you up, and the third world country tragedies."

Andrea turned her head down, feeling her cheeks get warmer by the second. "Stop, you making me blush here," she said.

Kurama laughed and looked across the street, where the theater stood. "There it is, across the street."

Andrea looked both ways and nodded, seeing the movie theater. "Yep. Come on, unless you're buying it all."

Kurama blinked. "No way!" he said, starting to walk across the street, with Andrea alongside him. As she turned her head towards a noise, he did the same and saw a black car heading for them, which made him frown slightly. "Haven't seen a black car in a while."

"Then why is it headed here?" she asked, although at the moment, her legs stopped moving, which scared her. "_And why is it I can't move?"_

Her conscious was trying to push her other half into moving out of the way. **"Move it! Get your rear in gear!"**

"_I can't... it's like I'm stuck!"_

Kurama had reached the other side and looked beside him. He blinked, not seeing Andrea next to him. "Andrea?" He looked around and his eyes widened in shock; she was still in the middle of the road, frozen!

As the car sped towards her, Andrea's consciousness kept trying to shove her out of the way. **"Move it!"**

Andrea was still in a shock. She wanted to move, but her legs wouldn't cooperate, and that frightened her more. _"I can't! I can't move!"_ Her mental voice was screaming, frantic with what was going on… or rather, what was going _to_ happen.

Kurama raced towards her through the thickening crowd, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. "Andrea, watch out!" he shouted, trying to snap her out of it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(Will Kurama get to her in time? And who was behind the wheel to the black car? All next in "Trial of Halves.")

Author's Notes:

/1/ In Japan, you have to be 20 to drink. Unfortunately, they're not that old.

/2/ When Andrea screamed, Kurama was up and at 'em. Light sleeper, huh?

/3/ I don't own "X-Men," and Hugh and Halle are two really actors in the movie.

/4/ That's Storm's power in "X-Men."

Cece: One stunning cliffhanger for the masses.

Kurama: Wait… where's the popcorn?

Cece: Whoops. Anyway, review here, pretty please?


	4. Lurking Danger

Lurking Danger

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Do I honestly have to say it EVERY time? Oh, okay. I don't own YYH, okay? Togashi-san wouldn't be too thrilled if I did. There.))

Yusuke: Did she get out of the way?

Cece: You have to read and find out.

Hiei: Same legend applies here.

Kurama: (looks around) Who ate all the Whoppers?

(Cece whistles innocently)

Kurama: Anyway, our last reviewer wanted to know what did "Reikai forbid" mean. Well, Reikai is Heaven, so it's literally "Heaven forbid."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(Last Chapter)

Kurama had reached the other side and looked beside him. He blinked, not seeing Andrea next to him. "Andrea?" He looked around and his eyes widened in shock; she was still in the middle of the road, frozen!

As the car sped towards her, Andrea's consciousness kept trying to shove her out of the way. **"Move it!"**

Andrea was still in a shock. She wanted to move, but her legs wouldn't cooperate, and that frightened her more. _"I can't! I can't move!"_ Her mental voice was screaming, frantic with what was going on… or rather, what was going _to_ happen.

Kurama raced towards her through the thickening crowd, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. "Andrea, watch out!" he shouted, trying to snap her out of it.

(Now, onto chapter 4)

Kurama did not like the thickening crowd a bit. He had to get to Andrea before she was hit… if he could get there. Finally making it to her side, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way as the car sped off. "That was close, right, Andrea?" he said, but heard no response.

His heart was thudding, once again, against the walls of his chest. Why wasn't she answering him? "Andrea?" he asked again and looked down at her.

Andrea had hit her head on the sidewalk, and her eyes were squinting, trying to open.

Still, Kurama couldn't be reassured until she opened her eyes, which she did. "Andrea, are you all right?" he asked her, worry already in the edges of his voice.

Andrea looked around, slightly out of it. Her blue eyes moved frantically and finally stopped when she saw Kurama's worried emerald gaze. "Anyone see the plates on the truck?" she asked him.

Kurama wanted to kick himself but didn't; Andrea was all right as far as he could tell, and that was all he needed to know. "Sorry, no I did not," he answered.

Andrea would've smacked a hand to her head, but at the moment, she was still in a slight shock. "I can't believe I didn't move."

The crowd had lessened somewhat; they were glad that the girl wasn't hit. Still, Kurama had his doubts that she was unscathed. "You were shocked," he answered, trying to calm her. "It happens."

Andrea blinked, feeling her limbs move again after the shock wore off. "I think I know who it was," she said, trying to lift her head.

Kurama slipped his hand behind her head. As he saw her squint her eyes shut, he knew he was right and shook his head. "Don't move. I'll help you up."

Knowing that nodding would probably hurt more, Andrea blinked. "I feel like something hit me," she answered.

Kurama nodded; at least the fall didn't mess up her reason. "You hit your head on the sidewalk," he replied. "It appears that the movie will have to wait." He watched as Andrea pushed herself up on the sidewalk into a sitting position. "My house isn't far from here; Mother won't ask too many questions if I told her you were injured." Kurama helped her to her feet. "Let's go."

Andrea held a hand to her head, trying to keep the dizziness out. "Okay," she said. Her first steps, though, were unsteady, at best. In fact, she had to lean against Kurama just so she could stand up.

Kurama shifted his worried eyes on her. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her, his voice mixing worry and relief. "I could take you to Yukina; she's visiting Kuwabara this weekend."

Andrea's head began to throb like several people pounding at a door close by. Her eyes didn't look any better; they were starting to get fuzzy and she covered her eyes. "I think I need a doctor," she stated to him.

It was then that Kurama's eyes turned worried all over again. "Are you sure?" he asked her, and as Andrea nodded her head, he felt her lean almost heavily against him. "Andrea?" He set her on a bench and looked around. "Someone call an ambulance!" he announced to the crowd.

While someone nodded and called 119/1/ Andrea tried to look up at him. It hurt slightly, but at this point, she didn't care. "I know who probably did this," she said, holding her head again. This time, the pain was almost unbearable.

"Yeah, me too," Kurama agreed with her, but as he saw her hold her head, he grew more concerned. "But don't move; you could get hurt more."

"It's kind of hard when you were knocked on the head," Andrea answered, and as the ambulance appeared, she saw a stretcher and grimaced; she hated those things. "I have legs, you know."

The medic shook his head as he helped her onto the stretcher. "I'm afraid it's just procedure, ma'am," he said with a few others helping him pull the stretcher in the ambulance.

Andrea rolled her eyes and instantly regretted it. Her head now felt like someone had beaten it with a bat.

Sensing that maybe her ex would be at the hospital to finish the job, Kurama looked at the medic. "I'm coming with her," he announced.

The medic shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir," he answered him. "Family relation only." /2/

Kurama jumped in the ambulance anyway. Perhaps it was instinct to stay with his fallen comrade. Maybe it was something else entirely. "Forget that! I'm getting on!"

Andrea blinked at the answer Kurama gave. It didn't sound like him at all. _"Okay, did Kurama get into the sake again?"_

Her conscious rolled her eyes. **"Kurama doesn't drink! You know that!"**

Youko was almost as shocked as Andrea. **"Wow... now that's a side of you I've never seen."**

Kurama sighed inwardly. In truth, he didn't know where the words came from, either. _"I blame you."_

"**Why?"**

"_Because you've been in my head since forever and had time to influence me!" _Kurama gave Youko a look that would have meant "Duh!"

The light that was almost entering Andrea's eyes was bright enough to make them squint shut. The bump on the head was making things worse.

"You'll be okay, Andrea, I'm beside you."

But as Andrea opened her eyes again, her vision was getting cloudy, almost like walking in fog, trying to find the obvious voice in the haze. "Where are you?" Her voice was slightly freaked as she heard the voice but couldn't find the face behind it. That is, until she felt a hand on her head and turned.

"Right here," Kurama's voice was starting to sound clearer to her, and so did his face. "Stay awake. Don't want an early visit to Koenma, now, do we?"

Andrea blinked. Now the face was getting clearer, but only for a minute, as if she were nauseous. "That butterball?"

Kurama chuckled into his free hand. "Yeah," he answered. "Remember when you hid his pacifier from him?"

"He needed to stop sucking on that thing anyway."

"He's still a child, in their terms."

Andrea looked around the ambulance slowly. "Wonder what'd happen if Yusuke kicked him like a football."

Kurama chuckled and shrugged. "Probably score a field goal."

"And a sore tail."

Kurama couldn't help but laugh. "I'll bet my best dollar on that," he said.

At the same time the medic let them know they were at the hospital and got out, Andrea looked at Kurama again. "Think maybe we could steal his pacifier again and then have Yusuke kick him like a football?"

Kurama nodded his crimson head. "As soon as you're out," he answered.

"In that case, it'd be in a few hours..." As Andrea blinked again, everything now turned fuzzy, as if she were just waking up. She looked at Kurama's now blurry face.

His voice, however, was crystal clear. "Still blurry?" he asked her.

"Looks like Jackson Pollock," /3/ Andrea answered.

Kurama shook his head as he stepped out of the ambulance alongside his friend. "I'll let that slide because of the concussion."

Andrea was confused. What was he talking about? "What concussion? All I did was bump my head."

"Rather hard I might add," he added.

A doctor had run up to them. "Okay, what happened?" he asked.

And then the pain came back. "Aiii!" Andrea squinted her eyes shut again. "Think he could tone the voiceage down a hair?" Her head felt like it would split open like a coconut.

The medic handed the report to the doctor. "She's got a possible concussion to the back of her head," he explained to the doctor.

As the doctor checked her eyes, he noticed that Andrea's eyes were all right, but blurry. "Vision's blurry... okay, nurse, get her set up in recovery."

After twenty minutes of sitting in a chair, Andrea was almost back to her old self. "See? Take more than that to knock me down," she said confidently. Maybe TOO confidently.

Kurama nodded. She was almost back. "I see," he answered, sitting in another chair.

The doctor wrote something else in the folder before closing it. "Other than a headache, she'll be fine," he said.

Kurama felt relieved that it wasn't as bad as it sounded. "Arigato."

The doctor got up and shook their hands. "She can leave now," he said before leaving.

Andrea exhaled in relief. "Thank Enma."

Kurama looked at her and handed Andrea her jacket. "Shall we?" he asked her.

Andrea pulled her jacket on and nodded. "Yeah," she answered. "Any longer, and I'll probably freeze up like an icicle."

Kurama patted her on the head lightly. "I'll sign the release forms and we'll be gone."

Andrea nodded again. "Sure," she said, watching Kurama leave the room. She blinked, thinking of when Kurama had gotten into the ambulance. It didn't sound like him to do something like that. It couldn't be… nah.

Meanwhile, Kurama was on his way to sign Andrea's release forms. His emerald eyes looked deep in thought about what had just happened.

"**Something's got to be up,"** Youko said to his human half.

"_You too?"_

"**One: Why would her ex try and kill her if all he wanted was to take her back?"**

"_I believe it's called psychotic."_

"'**Psychotic?' How about... how did Yusuke put it? FUBARed?"**

Kurama turned a corner. _"I don't believe that is even a conjunction."_

"**Yusuke said it stood for 'Fouled Up Beyond All Repair.'"** /4/

Kurama shook his head. _"That's Yusuke for you."_

"**Seriously, though, he's messed up."**

Kurama had to agree; why else would he plan to harm the woman he wanted to take back? _"I believe he was aiming for us."_

"**I think I know why... which is why I'm finding that Death Tree."**

"_Left ear, to the right."_

"**Okay... got it. Now, to find that son of a jackal."**

"_That's going to be harder,"_ Kurama thought as he arrived at the nurse's station. Behind the desk was a woman with an almost child-like face and looked to be a teenager but really in her late 20s. "Excuse me. Can I see the release papers for Andrea Stone?"

The nurse looked at Kurama and nodded. "Yes, ma'am," /5/ she said, handing them over.

While Youko was laughing in his mind, Kurama popped him again. _"That is not even remotely funny!"_ he hissed mentally. He looked at the nurse with his eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, miss, but I'm a man."

The nurse gasped and raised a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir! I didn't know..."

Now that Youko had busted out laughing inwardly, Kurama now had a new toy, a Youko piñata. "It's all right," he answered, smiling casually. "Happens all the time." As the nurse gave him a pen, Kurama signed the form and walked back to the room, where he heard Andrea almost bust out laughing. He blinked as he peered in the door.

Andrea turned her head to the redhead at the door. "Another case on TV," she explained. "Guy walks into a bank and writes on a piece of paper that he wants the money. The teller tells him that the deposit slip he wrote it on was from another bank."

Kurama chuckled into his hand. At least Andrea was almost back to normal. "I've signed the forms, so you're ready to leave right now."

Once again, Andrea sighed in relief. "Good. I hate hospitals." As Kurama and her left the hospital, she finished the funny sight she had seen on the TV. "The really funny part about the case is that he goes to the other bank to rob it, and they catch him." While they laughed, Andrea took a breath. "I can't believe there are stupid people."

Kurama thought to him, _"I can."_

Youko rolled his eyes. **"If you mean me, you're not funny."**

"_Halfway."_

"**Hey!"**

Andrea looked at him. "So, how are we getting back?" she asked him.

Kurama stuffed his hands in his pockets. The same idea sounded like the best one at the time. "Could try roof hopping again..."

Andrea conceded. "Okay, just remember the rule: Drop me, and Mafia comes after you."

"**She's a piece of work," **Youko said to his human counterpart.

"_Down, boy,"_ Kurama answered inwardly before a smirk graced his face at Andrea. "All right."

"**Oooh, and I thought I had that look by myself,"** Youko remarked.

Kurama rolled his emerald eyes. _"Don't make me hit you."_

Andrea giggled for a second at the smirk on his face. "So..." she said, composing herself. "Uh, how do you pull that off, genius?" She crossed her arms against her chest in a mock serious pose.

"There's a place a block away that's appropriate," Kurama answered.

Andrea nodded. She then added. "Okay, hopefully, no oncoming cars."

Kurama remembered the event that happened merely an hour and a half ago. "I hope not," he agreed.

"Well, let's go."

"This way," Kurama directed, walking down the sidewalk, Andrea close behind him.

When they had arrived on the roof, Andrea looked at him. "Oi... I thought I was cut out for this," she said, fighting the urge to look down.

Kurama watched as Andrea peered over the edge. "We can walk if you wish," he suggested.

Seeing the long way down was not a good thing, and neither was walking all that way again. "All these floors again?" Andrea shook her head. "Not a chance."

Kurama shook his head; he thought Andrea wouldn't want to walk all the way back down again. "All right," answered her, crouching down to let her get on his back again.

Andrea climbed on, wrapping her arms under his shoulders. "One question," she said to him. "When this is all over, can I hit Youko?"

Kurama nearly stumbled when he heard the question. He maintained his balance. "And why do you want to hurt him?" he asked.

Andrea gave Kurama a smile that could melt an iceberg. "Just wanted to see the look on your face," she answered him, giggling.

Youko laughed from inside Kurama's head. **"A REAL piece of work, that girl,"** he commented.

Kurama sweatdropped. _ "Don't think I won't hit you later, or maybe tie you up in the Vampire Plant," _he answered.

"**In front of your girlfriend?"**

"_I did say later."_

Andrea patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry; I won't hurt him," she said, holding onto him.

Kurama chuckled and smiled, wrapping his arms under her knees. "I'm sure of that," he answered her and then started to roof hop towards his house.

During a short stop, Andrea ran a hand through her shortened hair. "I'm thanking Enma I don't have long hair," she sighed in relief.

"I don't know, long hair can be handy," Kurama answered before jumping again.

Andrea leaned her chin against his shoulder. "Not to me..." Her voice suddenly grew quiet, almost in a whisper. _"Especially when he doesn't know the real reason why I had it cut,"_ she added in her head.

"**Do you?"** her conscious quizzed her.

"_To get away from Jason..."_ Almost after the words escaped her brain, her blue eyes widened and her hands tightened on his coat.

"**I see the fall didn't mess your brain up."**

"_Can it,"_ she told her conscious as she blinked.

Kurama jumped on a roof about a block away from his house. He wondered what had gotten Andrea so quiet all of a sudden. "We can swing down the tree if you want," he suggested. His answer was a shrug, so he jumped on the tree and landed on the ground with her hanging on.

Andrea, however, couldn't get rid of that feeling. In fact, it grew stronger when Kurama landed. _"I've got a really strange feeling..." _she thought.

Her conscious rolled her eyes. **"Shake it off,"** she said to her.

"_I can't. Something's about to happen," _Andrea answered in her mind. The feeling was one that she didn't like.

"**I have the same feeling. I hate it."**

Andrea blinked her blue eyes, mostly from shock and possibly instinct. _"He's around."_

"**But he doesn't have a aura! He's human! Isn't he?"**

Andrea looked worriedly at the redhead. _"Yeah, but something tells me that Kurama's in over his head," _her mental voice took a worrisome tone, almost like a mother about her son.

"**He's just being nice."**

"_And putting himself in the same trouble I'm in,"_ she thought before she finally said something. "So... get tired?" she asked as she got off of him.

Kurama, in a way, was relieved he finally heard something from her. "Not much. I'm pretty used to this," he answered.

Andrea listened for a minute and heard nothing, which was starting to freak her out. "You know it's really too quiet," she commented.

"I just noticed that myself," the redhead agreed. They started walking to his house. _"Think he's here?"_ he wondered to the Youko in him.

"**He doesn't have an aura, but I wouldn't put anything past him."**

Kurama had a weird feeling in his stomach. _"I have a sinking feeling he's around."_

Fear started to rise up in Andrea slowly. What if… "Think your mother's at home?" she asked him, a notable worry in her voice.

Youko looked at Kurama. **"YOU'VE got a sinking feeling? Tell that to the worried girl next to you."**

"_I know she feels it too,"_ Kurama thought before he answered her question. "She should be home now."

Andrea took a breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. "He shouldn't know about her, but I don't know." Her voice now sounded uneasy as they stopped by a tree only four houses away.

Kurama leaned against the tree and crossed his arms against his chest. He remembered the letter Andrea's ex-boyfriend had sent her; about if she didn't leave with him that he'd kill him. Maybe he would go after his mother, which was a big mistake on Jason's part. "He would stoop that far. She's a defenseless woman."

Andrea hated the fact that she couldn't let his mother know, and the thought made her head ache more. "We can't tell her anything, though," she said, but as she blinked, she held her heart, which was now beating wildly. "But something really worries me."

Kurama looked at her. He had the very same feeling, and usually, it wasn't good. "Same thing that worries me?" he asked her.

Andrea nodded, fear gripping at her chest as she took another breath. "What if, during all this time, he knows where we both live?" she asked, her voice now concerned for Kurama's mother. If that were the case, then his mother would be in danger and not even know it!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(Is Jason lurking in Kurama's house? If so, with his mother inside, will she be harmed? Find out in the next chapter.)

Author's Notes:

/1/ 119 is 911 in Japanese… I think. I hope so.

/2/ That's usually the way it works. But since no one from her family's there at the moment, Kurama gets to go.

/3/ Jackson Pollock was a painter of abstract expressionism. Learned about him in Art Class in the 10th grade.

/4/ FUBAR was a term from "Tango and Cash," a movie with Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. I don't own it or the movie, unfortunately.

/5/ I'll be honest with you all; I thought Kurama was a girl when I started watching the show.

Cece: Ooh. That's a tough chapter.

Kurama: And a chilling cliffhanger.

Cece: Speaking of chilling, where's my Klondike?

Kurama: I don't know what you mean, Cece.

(Hiei lies on the floor, contented via sweet snow.)

Cece: I should have known. Anywho, review here.


	5. Surprises and Strangers

Surprises and Strangers

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, and I don't want to.))

Cece: Here's Chapter 5.

Yusuke: So, where are we at in this story?

Cece: Yusuke, I swear on everything Kurama-ish that you'll be in it next chapter. Along with Hiei-chan! (smiles)

Hiei: (rolls eyes) Hn.

Kurama: Read and review at the end.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(Last Chapter)

Andrea hated the fact that she couldn't let his mother know, and the thought made her head ache more. "We can't tell her anything, though," she said, but as she blinked, she held her heart, which was now beating wildly. "But something really worries me."

Kurama looked at her. He had the very same feeling, and usually, it wasn't good. "Same thing that worries me?" he asked her.

Andrea nodded, fear gripping at her chest as she took another breath. "What if, during all this time, he knows where we both live?" she asked, her voice now concerned for Kurama's mother. If that were the case, then his mother would be in danger and not even know it!

(Now, on to Chapter 5)

Kurama noticed the concern creeping into Andrea's already squeaky voice and nodded in agreement. "Let's go and check out our theories," he said, walking to his house.

"Well, I'll hate it when it's right," Andrea answered, following him and praying to Enma that she was wrong and that it was only from the bump on her head. Though, in her mind, she had a sick feeling she was right.

Once they had arrived at Kurama's house, he knocked and opened the kitchen door. "Mother?" he asked, ushering a half-worried Andrea inside and closed the door.

Shiori looked at the door, seeing her son and a girl in the kitchen. "Oh, hi, Shuichi," she answered.

Andrea was mentally whirling about. _Okay, think of the best lie in the world,_ she thought to herself.

But before she could think of a good story, Kurama answered, "Andrea was injured. I thought she could stay with us until she felt better."

Andrea felt like she was ten inches tall. "Oh, no, I'm fine," she answered, taking one step and nearly keeling over… well, faking it anyway, but she wasn't going to let his mother know that.

Kurama literally fell into his part and held her up. "Oh, no you're not," he answered to her. He looked back at his mother, hoping she would agree to his suggestion.

"Of course, dear," she answered her son as she looked at Andrea's slightly bruised face with increased worry. "What kind of person would hurt you?"

She wanted to scream, "Oh, just a psychotic ex-boyfriend trying to kill me!" but only looked at the floor, her hand in her pocket. She couldn't let her know what was going on; Kurama was already knee-deep in it anyway, so why involve his mother?

Youko, probably for the first time that day, was in high alert and gave Kurama a mental report. **"Okay, he's definitely in the house. Time to think of way to get her out of the house."**

Kurama shook his head. _"Not going to be easy. She's making dinner. You know Mother and dinner."_

"**Well, offer to take over, genius."**

"_Just don't hurt her."_

"**Like I would."**

"_Maybe something like burnt supper or the like."_

Andrea pulled out a small box about the size of a CD from her pocket and gasped. "I just remembered that there was something I wanted to give Keiko, but Shuichi wants me to rest and all..."

"**Wow... better liar than you, Shuichi."** Youko was impressed, but not before receiving a smack upside his head.

Kurama looked at her box and nodded. "Yeah, would you mind taking it to her, Mother? I'll watch dinner," he suggested.

Shiori looked at the package in Andrea's hands and took it from her. "All right, I'll take it to her," she answered as Andrea nodded her head. She turned to her son. "Thank you, Shuichi..." she said to him as she pecked him on the cheek.

Kurama mentally told his Youko side to shut up as he looked at his mother. "It's nothing at all, Mother," he answered; inwardly embarrassed that she did that in front of Andrea.

"I'll be back when I can," Shiori said to them. She looked at her son. "I love you, Shuichi."

Kurama smiled at her, literally a smile that could melt a block of ice. "You too," he answered.

"And get some rest, dear." With that, Shiori was gone.

Andrea was grateful that the charade was over and took a huge sigh of relief. "I will," she said, adding mentally, _After this jerk gets what he deserves..._

Kurama looked at her, knowing that what Andrea had feared was actually true. "Should we split up?" he asked her.

Andrea nodded, her shortened locks tickling her face. "Definitely."

Kurama was slowly heading out of the kitchen to the staircase in the living room. "I'll look upstairs," he said. "Be careful."

"Okay, I got down here," Andrea answered and nodded at Kurama, who started up the stairs. She looked around the kitchen, worry creeping into her body again. _"I don't like my feeling,"_ she thought to herself.

"**You're telling me!"** her other half answered as Andrea looked at a door. **"Think he's in there?"**

Andrea opened the door and peered inside. Shaking her head at herself, she realized that it was only the pantry. She couldn't help but feel concerned for the redhead. Maybe he was in this too deep, but she knew he could handle it… which made her worry more. Could he handle it, really? If Jason was psychotic, like her mind was thinking, then when was he going to strike?

Meanwhile, Kurama was upstairs in his room, his emerald eyes giving himself mental radar. Youko was looking around, too. **"That feeling's really close,"** he said mentally.

Kurama slowly straightened himself, feeling a strange yet familiar energy. _"It feels almost as if it's…"_ he thought.

"**Right behind you,"** Youko said at the same time as Kurama blinked.

"_Behind us!"_ Kurama thought, whirling around… and saw a familiar black-haired man… and it wasn't Hiei.

Jason smiled at Kurama's slight freeze. "Surprise," he said to him, a maniacal smile gracing his face and a crazed look in his dark brown, almost black, eyes.

Instinctively, Kurama swung his fist to his jaw. "Get out of my house!"

Downstairs, Andrea heard Kurama's demand, which made her eyes widen. "Kurama…" she said as she bolted up the stairs. "He found him." She heard noises, basically Kurama wrestling against Jason, and stopped in the hall. _"Great,"_ she complained inwardly. _"Where's that…"_

"**Fire extinguisher!"** her mind screamed.

"_This isn't a fire!"_

"**Spray that son of a jackal!"**

Andrea reached her hand into her coat pocket and felt the bottle. "Still there..." she thought as she raced down the hallway.

"Get… out!" Kurama trying to stop a psychopath wasn't easy.

When Andrea heard Kurama's voice getting louder as he told him to get out, she knew she was in the right direction. She raced into the room. "You heard him!" As Jason turned to face her, she pulled the bottle out of her pocket and smiled. "Surprise!" she said, spraying the spray in her ex-boyfriend's eyes.

Luckily, Kurama covered his eyes in time before any of the painful liquid entered his eyes.

Jason screamed as the peppery liquid filled his eyes. He grabbed the first person around, which unfortunately was Andrea herself, and started dragging the defending Tantei to the stairs by her neck.

Kurama went out into the hallway after them. He wasn't going to let Andrea get killed, not after she probably saved him. He kicked Jason in the knees, which made Jason let go of Andrea, who ended up only three inches away from the stairs, coughing. Making a mental note to check on Andrea after this was over, Jason and him played karate tango. /1/ They punched and kicked at each other, half of the time not even hitting the redhead.

Andrea had gathered her bearings together and looked around from the floor while holding her neck. _Must be a good weapon around here..._ she thought, and it was then that she noticed something: a wooden broom.

Sensing what Andrea was going to do, her brain cheered her on as she went to grab the broom tightly in her hands. **"Let's kick his sorry butt!"**

Andrea focused her eyes on Jason. The pepper spray she had used was giving Kurama an advantage, but it wasn't enough. _"I've got the one in mind..."_ she said mentally as her hands gripped the bottom half of the broom.

"**Batter up!"** her mind said as Andrea swung the top of the broom on the side of Jason's head, connecting and sending him tumbling down the stairs. She looked at Kurama, who had ducked in time to avoid her blow. **"Home run, girl!"**

Walking slowly to the top of the stairs, Andrea looked at the bottom floor, one hand on the broom handle while the other held onto her neck. She tried to stop her heart from pounding out of her as Kurama went down the stairs to check if Jason was knocked out. Andrea slowly took a step down the stairs. "Is he out?" she asked as Kurama poked him with his foot. The abused Tantei sat down on the stairs; she couldn't believe what she had just done.

"It appears that way," Kurama answered as he checked his pulse.

Andrea leaned her head against the railing.

"He's out," he said as he went to the phone, but as he picked up the phone to call the police, he saw Andrea look at the broom in her hands and noticed that she was probably stunned. "Andrea?" he asked, hoping to snap her out of her daze.

Andrea blinked; in her state, the voice sounded familiar, though to her it wasn't. She didn't know how long she was holding onto the broom and her neck.

Thankful that the phone was a cordless, Kurama relayed the information to the police, keeping a good eye on Andrea, who was frozen to her spot. While the dispatcher took care of some things, he looked up at Andrea's stiff form. "Are you all right?" he asked her.

Just the question snapped her back to reality. "Huh?" she asked back, blinking her eyes to snap out of it.

"Are you all right?" Kurama repeated. He wasn't sure if she was daydreaming or in shock; he had to be sure.

Andrea still held onto her neck and the broom. The hold on the broom was tighter than the hand on her neck. In truth, she couldn't say that she was all right. "I guess so..." she answered him.

After telling the operator about what happened, Kurama looked at Andrea from the bottom of the stairs. "It's okay, Andrea," he said to her reassuringly. "He's going to be behind bars now. Breaking and Entering isn't favored here either."

Andrea started to clench her fist but then realized that the broom was still clenched in her hand.

Kurama nodded his head and hung up the phone after the operator told him when the police would arrive. "Hopefully Mother won't be here soon," he said, looking at Andrea, who lowered her head to look at the broom. He walked up the stairs and sat next to her. "You did what you had to," he said to her softly.

Andrea blinked in confusion, her blue eyes still on the broom. "Was it really self-defense or assault?" she asked him.

"Self-defense," Kurama answered her. "You know that."

Andrea did know that, but what she didn't know was something that had been in her hand for about five minutes. "So, tell me why I'm not letting go of the broom."

Kurama noticed that Andrea's hand that was holding the broom was shaking. He now knew the reason why. "You've never attacked a human before, I expect," he answered.

Andrea blinked. She didn't mean for it to look so obvious. "How'd you know?" she asked him.

Kurama shrugged; he knew inwardly that as far as demons were concerned, she had no mercy, but with humans… well, until just then, she'd never attacked one before. "I just knew," he answered.

Andrea blinked, hearing a somewhat welcoming sound. "They're here," she said to him.

Kurama nodded his head, about to help her stand up. "Shall we greet them?" he questioned her.

"Uh, you go ahead," she answered him, still slightly shaken up over what had happened. "It's your house."

Kurama patted her shoulder. "All right," he replied, walking down the stairs to talk to the officers about what had happened.

Her mind was racing was saying to calm down. **"He's not going to bother us anymore."**

Although her heart wasn't doing any such thing. _"I hope not."_

"**Still got that feeling?"** her mind asked her as Andrea looked down at the broom still in her hand. **"Yeah, me too."**

Downstairs, however, things were calmer as Kurama explained what had happened. "This young man broke in the house," he said as the officers took notes. "There was a bit of a struggle between myself and him, before my friend came to my aid."

One officer, a man of about 40, looked at the girl sitting on the stairs. "That her?" he asked Kurama, who nodded.

"She's slightly in shock at the moment," the redhead explained. "She'll be downtown a little later, after she calms down a little."

The officer nodded to his protégés, who picked up the unconscious ex, cuffed and dragged him into the car. The officer then thanked the redhead for calling and left.

After Kurama closed the door, he now had to figure out a way to get Andrea to snap out of it. But as he sniffed, his eyes widened: in all of the danger, he had forgotten about dinner/2/ "Enma!" he said, racing into the kitchen, hoping he wasn't too late. Kurama breathed a sigh of relief as he turned everything off. On the bright side, he did like things well done.

He smacked himself on the forehead. What was he thinking? He really couldn't explain to his mother that the food was gone because of a fight. Finding some plates and some aluminum foil, he set the food in the plates and wrapped the plates up. After setting them in the refrigerator, Kurama sighed. Maybe take-out sounded like a plan.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's Notes:

/1/ Karate Tango is something I made up. I was talking about the fight and how one-sided it was… well, kind of.

/2/ Poor Kurama… hope the fox can get out of this one.

((Well, Jason's gone, but for how long? Will things ever go back to normal? Will Andrea press charges against him? All that in the next chapter.)

Yusuke: I hope you weren't laughing at yourself, Kurama.

(Cece busts out in giggles)

Kurama: No. Unfortunately, she's had one too many fudge pops. Review here, please.


	6. Qualities of a Friend

Qualities of a Friend

By: Cece Williams

(Disclaimer: Other than Andrea, nothing owned, nothing paid to me.)

Cece: Okay, time to answer the "Trial of Halves" lovely reviewers…

(Kurama groans, smacking a hand to his head)

Cece: (raises an eyebrow at Kurama) Okay. **IntoTheWakingDawn**, yeah, I agree that Jason's creepy, and I hate him too. Don't worry; sooner or later, he'll get his. **demoness13**, thanks, and I'll keep this going as far as I can. **Sonya-White-Angel**, I think in chapter 4 I answered your question. And **nanana**, Kurama almost burning dinner was funny. As for Andrea pressing charges, well, you'll have to read further. Well, that's it.

Kurama: Good! Now can we start this LONG chapter?

Cece: Of course, cutie! (smiles)

Kurama: Why me?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Andrea continued to hold the broomstick in her hand. The last few minutes flashed in her mind: the broomstick, the contact with Jason's head, him tumbling down the stairs… it was starting to scare her all over again.

Kurama walked back into the living room, thankful that the food fiasco /1/ was over. Still, Andrea's wide blue eyes were starting to chill him to the bone. He had to try and snap her out of it. "Andrea?" he asked the girl sitting on the stairs. "They took him."

Andrea blinked at Kurama's voice. She had never, not even before she was a Tantei, attacked a human before. Her heart was starting to beat wildly; she didn't like the idea of going to jail for assault with a deadly weapon, even if it was a broomstick.

"Andrea? Are you all right?"

Andrea blinked back to reality. Something was wrong with her; she never spaced out like this. "Huh?" she asked him.

Kurama took a deep breath as he slowly went up the stairs and sat in front of her. She had been sitting there, in a daze, since after she had knocked Jason down the stairs. "Are you all right?" he repeated, this time his voice normal, although edges of worry creased it.

Andrea looked down at the broom handle she had been holding for the past thirty minutes and flinched at the weapon. She swallowed. She was wondering what orange would look on her. Or was it blue? Hell, she didn't know, and she didn't WANT to know.

Kurama grabbed the broom handle, his calm emerald eyes meeting Andrea's stunned blue orbs. "Let me have it," he calmly told her, and as she let go of the broom, Kurama went to put the broom away.

After Andrea's hand dropped to her side, her mind was swimming, but she felt as if she were drowning in her own inward thoughts. _"I don't know what happened."_

"**You defended yourself!"**

"_Attacked someone from behind."_

"**So you're no knight in shining armor. You did the best you could."**

"_What if I killed him?"_

"**With a broom?"**

"_He fell down the stairs, too!"_

"**3/4 chances he'd make it."**

As Andrea looked at her hands, her conscious smacked her back into reality. She grabbed onto the railing and blinked. "So, how long do you think he'll be put away for?" she asked Kurama.

The redhead closed the closet door and looked up at her. "A few days, a week at the most. If there's no charge."

Andrea didn't like the sound of that at all. "No charge?" she echoed.

Kurama nodded. "I'm afraid you'll have to charge him against the crime."

The answer made Andrea's heart beat faster. She had done it once before, but all he served was four months. Just thinking about Jason made her mind race more than the Kentucky Derby. /2/ _"I can't keep it from them anymore; I'll have to tell them."_

"**Whoa! Ho, there! You think that's a good idea?"**

"_They have to know... especially Kurama."_

"**I have a bad feeling. Don't do it!"**

"_Why not?"_

"**Bad feeling. Very bad feeling."**

"_Give me a good reason."_

"**Okay, is 'bad' and 'feeling' not a good enough reason?"**

Andrea held a hand to her head, fighting the urge to run down the stairs. "_Oi... I'm getting a headache."_

"**Just don't, okay? Got it?"**

Andrea then crab-walked back to the top of the stairs, resting her chin on her knees. Why couldn't she tell him? Kurama was already a target, and, to Andrea, it only made the situation a lot worse. Now she was scared, scared of what Jason would have done if Shiori had gone up the stairs. Sure she was all right, but that didn't mean Andrea was going to get any better. When the doorbell rang suddenly, she flinched. Had Jason come back?

Kurama looked at the door and then at Andrea's slightly paled face. "I'll go check that," he said calmly, knowing Andrea was probably still stunned. "Would you like to sit somewhere more comfortable? Like that couch?"

Andrea shook her head. She mentally smacked herself; no way could he have come back! Or could he? "I'll be fine," she answered.

Kurama nodded. He wanted her to cool down a little before she felt like talking. "Okay," he replied, heading to the door.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Kuwabara felt a slight freeze to his head. "Something happened here," he said, mostly to himself.

Yusuke looked at Kuwabara, confusion written on his face. "Say something, Kuwabara?" he asked him.

Hiei simply looked away. "Hn. Just making an idiot of himself again," the fire demon answered.

Kuwabara looked at Hiei. If physics permitted it, there would have been a throbbing vein from Kuwabara's orange head. "Watch it, short-round!"

Hiei looked up at Kuwabara. He hated being called anything around the term of "short," and that was obvious from a small yet fierce glare in his red eyes. "Does a death wish sound like a nice end to you?"

Before Kuwabara could answer, the door opened, revealing a blinking Kurama. "Hey, Kurama," he said to the redhead.

Yusuke looked at his friend also. "Hey buddy," he said while Hiei looked away.

Inside the house, Andrea blinked and straightened out. Now she knew it wasn't Jason; it was the rest of the group. Just the thought made her feel better.

Although in the doorway, Kurama was starting to get confused. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Thought we'd check up on you," Yusuke answered.

Kuwabara rolled his beady eyes. "Couldn't you use a phone, Urameshi?"

"Then what's the point? I don't have three-way."

As Hiei merely glared at the two morons, Kurama sweatdropped. "As much as I like seeing you all again, I'm in a bit of a dilemma at the moment."

Kuwabara's feeling was getting chilly again. "What happened?"

"Normal uptown problems. We had a break in."

"Yep, heard a cop car go by."

"Too darn loud," Hiei said. The sirens, to him, felt like someone screaming in his ear.

"Yes, they do seem to be," Kurama answered in agreement, not noticing someone walking down the stairs and peering over his shoulder.

"Guys?"

Yusuke blinked, not much from surprise. "Andrea's here too?"

Kurama felt like he wanted to crawl under a rock. He knew how Yusuke was about them. Yusuke had wanted Kurama to hurry up and start dating Andrea, but he refused. "Uh, yes," he answered, ushering his friends inside.

Andrea crossed her arms against her chest. "Of course it's me!" she said, somewhat insulted. "Who'd you think I was, Michelle Pfeiffer?" /3/

Hiei didn't know who, or what Andrea was talking about. "Who?"

"Actress in America."

While Hiei shrugged at Andrea's confusion, Kuwabara looked at her. "The one with the blond hair?" he asked her.

"That'd be the one," Andrea said, nodding.

"I liked her," Yusuke said. "Especially in that cat suit…"

Kuwabara looked at Yusuke. "Wonder what Keiko's gonna say about that."

"Nothing if some idiot don't tell her."

Andrea smirked, despite a slight wince in her cheek. "So, the great Urameshi's finally got a girlfriend?"

Yusuke's brown eyes widened almost to the size of coconuts. "She's just a friend!"

Andrea rolled her blue eyes. "Riiiiight," she said sarcastically. "Like that rumor you started about me going out with Kurama…"

"Well, that one's true."

Andrea's answer was a good kick to Yusuke's gut. How DARE Yusuke claim that Kurama was her boyfriend! "He's just my friend, that's all!"

While Kuwabara, Kurama, and even Hiei tried not to laugh, Hiei behind Kurama and Kuwabara, Yusuke looked at Andrea, who looked perturbed. "What was that for?"

"It's only a rumor, nothing more!" Andrea answered. Her voice calmed down a bit. "Unless you want me to call Keiko and set you up on a date..."

Yusuke feared that more than fighting Toguro for the second time, if he were alive, that is. "Please no!"

"Then can it about Kurama and me," Andrea answered, taking a deep breath.

Kuwabara noticed something different with Andrea, as she was a little more defensive than usual. But it wasn't just that; it was more like she was hiding something. And he knew that was unusual for someone like Andrea.

The redhead noticed that Kuwabara was silent. "What is it, Kuwabara?" he asked the carrot-haired detective.

As Kuwabara saw Andrea cover her neck with her hand, Yusuke's brown eyes widened. No wonder she was jittery earlier. "Whoa, that's some bruise!" he said.

Andrea wanted to give Yusuke a long hard stare but now felt like a rabbit in a fox's den. And right now was not a good time to feel sheepish. "You look like you never saw one before," she answered, keeping her voice in control.

"Just not one that big!"

Hiei sat on the top of the couch, crossing his arms like he usually did. Not that he would care how she looked. "Who attacked you?" he asked her.

Andrea's hand fell from her neck to her arm near her elbow and she started rubbing up and down her arm. It was one of her nervous habits, and Andrea was starting to feel the heat. "The person who broke in here was someone I knew," she answered almost in a whisper.

Yusuke and Hiei stared at her. Somehow there was something that Andrea wasn't saying.

"There's something I have to tell you," Andrea continued. "This cannot go beyond this house, unless you happen to get subpoenaed into court." She would have said more if her mind didn't scream at her.

"**You aren't!"**

"_Might as well... they have a right to know."_

"**No, they don't! It's our affair! It's nothing they have to worry about!"**

"_Look, Kurama's already involved! You know Hiei's Jagan Eye; he'll know I'm keeping something."_

"**All right! Why don't we hang a huge billboard sign while we're at it! 'Andrea's Biggest Secret Revealed!' That'll make the front page."**

"_Oh, can it already,"_ Andrea hissed mentally as she took out her wallet and pulled out a picture

Yusuke blinked as Andrea pulled out the small glossy paper. "What you got?" he asked her.

Andrea showed them the heavily creased picture in her hand; it looked at least a year old and of a guy, who wore a football jersey, was about 6'1" with a medium build, and black hair and dark brown eyes. "His name's Jason Lee Westbrook," she said. "He thought he was named after some karate star." /4/

Yusuke looked at the picture. "That's the guy who broke in?" he asked and Andrea nodded her head.

Kuwabara looked at the picture and shrugged at them. "So? Why don't you head to the cops?"

As Andrea shook her head, Kurama looked at them. "We called the police already," he explained. "They have him in holding."

"Can't you press charges on the guy?" Kuwabara asked, and Andrea shook her head again.

Kurama leaned against the back of the couch. He knew Andrea wanted to, but he couldn't very well coerce her into doing that. "She's too frightened to."

This was hard for Yusuke Urameshi to believe. "What?" he asked. "Andrea 'kick ass' Stone's scared?"

Andrea felt like squeezing herself under the couch; she was feeling the heat from the team again. "It's not that I'm scared of him, Yusuke. It's..."

"She doesn't wish to remember," Kurama answered.

It wasn't that Andrea didn't want to remember; she wanted to get it all out in the open. _"I've got to get it out."_

"**Bad idea! Bad idea!"**

"_Can it in there! Whose bright idea was it to actually date the guy for three months!"_

"**That's different!"**

"_No, it's not! Don't you remember what he tried to do to me?"_

"So sue for malpractice! I was wrong! Happy!" 

While Andrea was fighting with her mind, Hiei was listening with his Jagan. He knew there was more to the story than what Andrea was letting on, and as he listened more, he knew he was right.

Andrea could feel a headache coming on. _"How can you sue your own mind?"_

"**Whoa, hadn't had that in awhile." **After Andrea sat down on the couch, her mind continued.** "I still say this is a bad idea."**

"_Why? Is it a crime to let your friends know what's wrong with you?"_

"**It's private. You know that."**

"_It's not anymore."_

"**Fine, go ahead! But if the place blows up around us, don't blame me!"**

"_I'll welcome that with open arms."_

Kuwabara looked confused about what Andrea meant. Why didn't she want to press charges on the guy? Even more, what did she mean when she told Yusuke "It's not that I'm scared of him?" "What about that guy? He doesn't look so tough," he said, trying to make Andrea lighten up.

Unfortunately, Andrea wasn't in the mood; she needed for them to understand just how dangerous Jason was. She took off her coat and her cardigan, wincing slightly from the pain. Around her left arm was a bluish-purple bruise all around her upper arm.

Yusuke looked at the darkening bruise and was stunned. "Damn!"

Andrea turned her head to face them. "Tell me something. Have you ever tried to get away from something, only to have it come back to haunt you?" she asked them.

"Yeah, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara gave Yusuke a glare. "Hey!"

Andrea rolled her blue eyes. "I'm being serious here," she pressed.

"Well, he keeps coming back for fights," Yusuke answered.

Andrea pulled her coat back on and sighed. "Forget it; you wouldn't understand it if it slapped you in the face," she said, getting up from the couch and walking outside.

Kurama shook his head; Andrea was already under enough stress, and what had just happened didn't make it better for her. "Now look what you've done," he said, giving Yusuke a disdainful look.

Kuwabara walked out after her. "Don't worry about Urameshi; he's a moron, anyway," he said in an effort to cheer her up.

Hiei had walked outside as well. "Obviously," he added.

_Something happened to her,_ Kuwabara thought. Aloud, he said, "So, how about I beat up Urameshi for you?"

Andrea exhaled through her nose. "No thanks," she said, leaning against a tree.

Yusuke and Kurama were the last to leave the house after Kurama grabbed his coat and pulled it on. Yusuke looked at Andrea, who was watching the cars go by. "Gee, Andrea, gomen," he apologized. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I was just goofing."

"As usual."

"I really am sorry." And with that, Andrea gave a nod.

"So..." Kuwabara said. "About that jock-loser... what's so special about the guy?"

"Ex-boyfriend," Kurama answered him. "I'm afraid that's all I know."

"And he did all that to her?" Kuwabara asked him.

Andrea finally let her head drop. "And more," she said, knowing her mind was going to lose this fight.

"**Easy, girl."**

"_I'm not telling them everything... especially about the hit-and-run."_

"**I think Kurama would fill them in about that later."**

Andrea brought her hand back to her neck. It was still sore, but right now, she didn't care. "All these bruises happened less than a few days ago," she informed the team.

Yusuke's brown eyes widened, again, to the size of coconuts. "Nani!"

Andrea swallowed; she was starting to feel the pain all over again. "He sent me a letter last night," she said, digging into her pocket.

"Let's see it," Hiei said in his let's-just-get-this-over-with voice.

Andrea pulled out a piece of paper, which turned out to be an envelope. She handed it to Hiei, who in turn handed it to Yusuke, who muttered a curse under this breath after reading the possessive line on the back. "That's after the attack in front of the cafe on Kashiwagi Street," Andrea explained.

"Hey, I know that street," Yusuke said. "Nice coffee deals."

Andrea let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, nice deal on 'hit your ex in front of a crowd' too," she said half-sarcastically.

Hiei held his hand out. "Next?"

Andrea took out the letter that included the threat and handed it to Hiei, who handed it to Yusuke. Yusuke was steamed at what he was reading. "What! A threat against Kurama!" he gritted.

Kuwabara looked stunned, but angry as well. Not only did Jason hurt Andrea, but also now he was threatening to kill Kurama? "Nani!"

"If I don't go with him," Andrea said, her voice turning almost into a whisper. She now hated getting the guys involved, but it was too late.

Yusuke was getting really pissed off about this Jason guy. "That's bogus, man!" he said but then realized that Andrea was still there. "Err, gal, I mean."

"He's not playing around, either."

"Well, we're not either!" Yusuke said to her.

Andrea knew they were behind her, and it made her feel better. Although now things were going to be a LOT worse than before, she looked up at Kurama silently, as if trying to get the words to come out of her mouth. In fact, there were a lot of things she could say if the others weren't around.

Kurama noticed her worried look and smiled at her calmly. "You don't have to worry, Andrea," he said reassuringly. "I can take care of myself."

Andrea took a deep breath and took out a small bottle from her coat pocket. She opened it and took out two small pills.

Yusuke pointed to the bottle. "What's that?" he asked her.

"Something for headaches..." She leaned her head back and popped the two pills down her throat.

"Oh," Yusuke answered while Hiei looked at Andrea unbelievingly.

"Did anyone hear something across the street from the theater?" she asked the group.

"I might have while passing," Hiei answered.

"I thought I heard something, though it could be Urameshi's bad driving," Kuwabara said, only to have Yusuke come back at him with, "Hey!"

Andrea smiled slightly. "I wish it was," she answered them.

"Someone almost ran her over," Kurama explained to the team.

Kuwabara blinked. "You're kidding!" he protested, but Andrea shook her head.

Yusuke shook his too. "Man. Bad day for you," he said.

"You can say that again," Andrea answered.

"Okay. Bad day for you." Yusuke's answer was Andrea's blank stare.

"The point is, this guy's hurting her," Kurama said. Thinking, he added to himself, _Though to Andrea, that's an understatement._ Aloud, he added, "We have to stop him."

Inwardly, Andrea knew they would see the light. **"I knew it!"** her mind celebrated.

Kuwabara nodded. "Where's that guy?" he asked.

"Jail at the moment," Kurama answered, and then looked at Andrea. "Andrea, it's your decision."

Andrea's blue eyes lit up almost like a flare. She knew what she had to do, and she had to do it now. When she turned to face them, they could see the fire in her eyes. "Let's go."

Ten minutes went by as the group walked into the police station where the police were holding Jason. A police officer, a man around the age of 50 with graying hair and brown eyes, looked at the group that had just walked in. "May I help you?" he asked.

Andrea nodded. "We're here about Jason Westbrook," she answered, her voice renewed with more courage than Kuwabara with mice.

The officer looked at Andrea and blinked. "You wouldn't happen to be the young lady on the stairs of the Minamino home, would you?" he asked her. After Andrea nodded, he led them to his desk. "So, have you all come to file a charge against him?"

Kurama nodded. "Breaking and Entering," he said.

"Domestic Assault," Yusuke added.

"Attempted Kidnapping."

"Attempted Hit-and-Run," Yusuke said, but what Andrea said made them all look at her.

"Attempted Murder." Andrea shrugged off her coat, wincing again. "And I have proof."

Yusuke looked at Kurama. "Are you sure she didn't take too much of that medicine?" he asked.

"I'm sure," Kurama answered. _Though I'm worried if Andrea can back the last charge up,_ he thought to himself.

The officer looked at Andrea's bruised arm and her neck. "Come with me," he said, standing to his feet. "We'll need pictures as evidence." As Andrea stood up, he walked with her to an interview room. He waved for her to sit down, and she did. He took out a tape recorder and turned it on RECORD. "Please tell me your name."

"Andrea Stone," Andrea answered, taking a deep breath.

"Tell me how long have these bruises been inflicted."

"Yesterday," Andrea answered as calmly as she could.

Meanwhile, Yusuke looked at the clock. "Don't you think they'd finish grilling her by now?" he asked.

"Attempted murder is a serious charge," Kurama answered.

Another officer, this one a young one of 27, asked the boys to follow him. Hiei growled lowly about being called as a boy but followed without incident. _Yet,_ Hiei thought. They arrived outside of the interview room Andrea was in.

Inside the interview room, the interview was nearly over, and the officer took out a camera, which made Andrea shiver slightly. "It's all right," the officer reassured her. "I'm just taking pictures of where you say he hit you."

Andrea nodded, letting the officer go ahead and take the pictures. She blinked a few times as the flash entered her eyes but figured that it would be worth it to have him in jail, where he belonged.

The officer set the camera down on the table. "All right," he said. "We're done."

Andrea stood to her feet and shook the detective's hand. "Please keep me informed," she said as the officer nodded and opened the door for her. "Thank you," she said as she walked out of the room.

The officer followed her out of the room. "I got the evidence against him, and it looks really serious," he started as he closed the door. "We're going to keep him here without bail."

Andrea looked relieved. Maybe it was all over now. "Thank you," she said, smiling one of the brightest smiles she could without wincing.

"Can we leave now?" Yusuke asked impatiently.

The officer looked at them and nodded. "You can leave," he said, hearing Yusuke's sigh of relief.

As they started to leave, though, things weren't over yet. Not by a long shot. A commotion with a prisoner made them turn their heads to it, which turned out to be a mistake.

"I've got a right to punish my woman if I want to!" It was Jason, and it looked like the officer told him about the charges stemming against him.

"Well, according to your 'woman,' she's not your property," the officer answered him.

That was when all hell broke loose… and so did Jason. He broke free from the officer holding him and went after the "woman" in question. Kurama pulled Andrea behind him and felt the obsessed young man's hands around his neck.

Andrea had had enough. She went from behind Kurama's back and jumped onto Jason's back, attempting to put the bigger person in a hold. "Let him go!" she shouted as she was literally bucked around. She felt one officer pull her down and then Jason was cuffed. When the officer let her go, she walked up to the redhead, worry stretching to every corner of her face. "Are you all right?" she asked him.

Thanking Inari for him being a demon, Kurama knew he would heal in a matter of minutes. But looking at Andrea's worried face was enough for the Youko in him to think that there was something going on with them. "I'm just fine," he answered and gave her a smile, which caused Andrea to smile right back.

Hiei looked at them. "Let's just get out of here before he tries to attack her again," he said to them.

The others agreed and left the station. Andrea felt even guiltier than Jason was. She had let Kurama get hurt, and it was her that he was after. Jason was her problem, and now because of her filing charges against him, one of her friends was hurt.

"Well, we gotta split," Yusuke told them. "See you guys around!" With that, he walked off.

Hiei flitted into a tree while Kuwabara waved at them. "See you," he said, heading for home.

That only left Andrea with Kurama. They walked to her apartment and they were totally silent. The only thing the other could hear was their breathing.

Kurama's mind was whirling about. _"She's so quiet," _he thought to himself.

"**Don't ask me what's gotten stuck in her throat."**

"_She didn't do anything wrong…"_ Kurama blinked at Andrea, feeling the emotion that plagued her mind at the moment. _"It's guilt? For what?"_

"**Why don't you ask her, Shuichi?"**

"_I don't want to intrude on her private thoughts, Youko. You know that."_ Kurama's thoughts were shattered with a small voice next to him, saying, "I'm sorry." Kurama looked around to find the source of the voice and blinked at Andrea, whose head was lowered. "Sorry? Whatever for?" the redhead asked the girl at his side.

Andrea kept her head lowered. She felt so guilty for letting them walk with her to the station, and now Kurama's life was also in jeopardy. She unlocked the door and walked inside, taking off her shoes. "I should have went alone," she said as she set the keys on the coffee table.

Kurama blinked as he stepped inside, took his shoes off as well, and closed the door behind him. What was Andrea talking about? Going alone? "If we hadn't gone with you, he would have made good on his promise to kill you," he said. "Also, it wouldn't be one of the qualities of a friend."

Andrea blinked and turned around. How could she have just said that! Then again, she hadn't had that many friends before she became a Tantei. And she was getting significantly closer to Kurama, maybe a little too close. "Why?" Her question was more of a whisper.

Kurama looked at her, confusion spreading all over his face. "'Why' what?" he asked her.

"Back in the station, when Jason was about to come at me," she answered. She remembered Kurama pulling her behind him. Andrea knew the reason why, but she wanted to hear it from Kurama himself.

"I didn't want him to inflict any more pain on you than you already had endured," Kurama answered. Andrea had already sat down on the couch, so Kurama decided to join her and sat down. "That's one of the qualities of a friend: not letting a person you care about get hurt, no matter what the consequences are."

Andrea looked at Kurama finally. "You mean like how Yusuke is with Keiko?" she asked him curiously.

Kurama blinked. Perhaps that wasn't the best way to tell her. "Exactly," he let the word slip out. But what Kurama didn't expect was being held by the girl he protected. "Nani?"

Andrea let her head lay on his shoulder. Sure it was impulsive, but right now, she didn't know, honestly, what had possessed her to do something like that: literally throwing herself at Kurama like a fangirl. She blinked and then jumped away, feeling rather embarrassed. "Sorry."

Kurama looked at her and blinked. "I didn't mind," he answered, watching Andrea turn her head again to face him. This time as she inched herself towards him, he wrapped his arms around her. "You're going to be just fine," he said. "Surely Jason wouldn't be dense enough to break out of prison."

Andrea sighed and closed her eyes for a second. Maybe Kurama was right; maybe Jason wasn't dumb enough to escape. Just the feeling made her relax. Maybe everything now was finally over.

Kurama had been thinking the same thing, but his emerald green eyes slightly narrowed. What if it wasn't over? What if it was, indeed, only the beginning? _I don't care,_ he thought to himself. _I'll protect Andrea until the end, whatever it takes._ He felt Andrea's arms tighten slightly around him and blinked. "Andrea? You're about to fall asleep on me… again."

Andrea's blue eyes snapped open. No way was she going to let that happen again. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Sorry about that," she said. She looked out the window and gasped. "Oh, my God! Kurama! Your mother! She's probably worried about you!"

Kurama's eyes widened as well. He looked at the clock by the end table, which read 9:15PM. "Oh, Inari! You're right!" he answered, getting off the couch. "Well, I'll tell her that you're doing a lot better." He went to the door and pulled on his shoes again. "I'll see you later, Andrea. Good night." With that, the redhead walked out and headed for home.

Andrea watched Kurama leave and sighed. Not that she was glad Kurama was gone, but that Jason was behind bars, where he belonged. "Maybe now I can sleep without any strange dreams," she said as she went to her room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's Notes:

/1/ In the last chapter, Kurama almost burned dinner. LOL I know, I know. Out of character for Kurama, but it's a first.

/2/ The Kentucky Derby's a horse race, a very good one.

/3/ Michelle Pfeiffer played Catwoman in "Batman Returns." One of my favorite villainesses of the time.

/4/ Jason Lee's an actor, and Brandon Lee (God rest his soul) was a martial artist and an actor.

Cece: Wow, Kurama. You WERE right. That is a LONG chapter.

Kurama: One of Cece's finer moments. (Cece blushes) What?

Yusuke: Man! I thought they were gonna get jiggy…

Cece: (smacks Yusuke with an iron skillet) Yusuke! I'm not making this rated R!

Kurama: (sweatdrops) Review here, please.


	7. Going Under

Going Under

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Well, I do own YYH… (gets wrapped up with Rose Whip and looked at with a challenging emerald gaze) Uh, did I say, "own?" Uh, I meant, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.))

Cece: Well, here's the toughest chapter I ever had to write.

Yusuke: That's only because Andrea gets…

Hiei: (hits Yusuke with sword hilt) Don't spoil the story, baka.

Kurama: Well, once again, I fear this chapter may be long. Oh, and this is not a songfic with the song by Evanescence. Cece just liked the title.

Cece: (eats popcorn) Read and review!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Andrea woke up to the sound of thunder outside her window and looked at her clock, which read 1:30AM. She got out of bed, wearing a dark blue PJ set, and walked into the kitchen to get something to drink, only to find that when she flicked the switch, the lights were cut off. "Great," she complained, walking into the kitchen where lightning flashed outside the window... which revealed the shape of a man.

The figure pounced on her and held her against the wall by her arms. Her reflexes taking over, she kicked him between the legs, scratched the man in the face and ran into the living room and reached under the cushion for her revolver. Aiming it into the night and aided by the lightning, she fired a shot, which hit the man in the arm.

Unfortunately, his gun went off at the same time; the shot ricocheted and shot her on the side of her head just as lightning flashed and thunder clapped at the same time she hit the ground. The man looked at her crumpled form on the ground. "You won't even make it to court," he said as he left.

Andrea struggled to stay awake, but she realized that blood was slowly creeping down across her forehead, which felt like a ton of bricks. She didn't want to close her eyes; fear crept into her spine. What if he had now gone after Kurama? She had to warn him! She reached over to where her coat was and tried to reach her cell phone, but she collapsed and she finally passed out, closing her eyes in surrender.

Meanwhile, at Kurama's house, lightning flashed through the window, which made Kurama shoot himself up in his bed. Even in the dark with him just waking up, his emerald green eyes were side open as he looked over at his clock and read 1:33AM. What could have possessed him to wake up at that time of morning? Unless… "Something's wrong," he said as he took a breath. _"Youko?"_

Youko mentally opened one eye. **"Great... you wake me up for what? Little Shuichi scared of the lightning?"**

"_No! Sense around, baka!_"

Youko used his sensitive fox ears as he rubbed his head and looked around but froze when he heard a shot… and he didn't like where. "**Sounds like a shot**."

Kurama jumped out of bed, hearing Youko's response, and started pulling on a pair of blue jeans and a sweater. He didn't care about his hair at the moment; that would wait. _"Feel anything at that direction!"_

"**It's at your girlfriend's house."**

Kurama had already gotten to the front door and opened it when he heard Youko call Andrea his girlfriend… again. _"She's not my girlfriend!" _he hissed mentally as he raced out the door into the night.

"**Riiiiiight. Then tell me you weren't feeling anything for her a week ago?"**

"_Tell me what you were feeling toward that fox girl during the Tournament?"_

"**What? I was more worried with getting you with Andrea, thank you."**

"_That was almost three years ago!"_

"**And forgive me for saying, but you ain't getting any younger, you know."**

Kurama raced down the street to Andrea's apartment. He was hoping it was only Youko's imagination running wild. Somehow, deep down, he knew Youko wouldn't lie about something this serious. _"I'll kill you later."_

"**Uh, how? I'm a part of you."**

"_I'll figure out a way!" _With that, Kurama ran into the apartment, not really paying attention to where he was going.

"**Um, watch out for that... girl."**

Kurama tripped over something and quickly regained his balance. As the lightning flashed, he looked down to see what he tripped over. It was a pair of legs, and as he looked further up… "Oh Inari!" Andrea was lying like a rag doll on her side, her slightly tangled bobbed hair almost covering her face. Kurama knelt next to her and pulled her hair from her face as the lightning flashed. His eyes widened at the sight of blood on her head and he said her name. No response. Grabbing his cell phone from his pocket, he called 119.

From the other end, a calm female voice answered. "119..."

Right now, Kurama was trying to stay calm, but the sight of his friend on the floor, not answering him, shoved shivers up and down his spine. "Hello, I have an emergency here!"

The female on the other end remained calm, as was her job. "Stay calm, and tell me the emergency, sir," she stated to him.

Kurama took a deep breath. Sure he was worried about Andrea, but sounding too worried wasn't going to help her. "My friend's hurt," he answered into his phone. "Seems like she was shot in her left temple near her frontal lobe."

"We're sending an ambulance now," she informed the redhead. "I need you to see if she's breathing."

Kurama knew better than to try and move her; it would do more harm to Andrea than good. He checked her pulse at her neck and felt a slow heartbeat, which almost froze him in place. "Yes, but barely," he told the dispatcher.

"All right. Now I need you to wrap her in something to keep her from going into shock."

While Kurama looked around in the dark for something to wrap Andrea in, Youko couldn't resist. **"How 'bout you?"**

Kurama mentally smacked Youko once again and grabbed an afghan from off the couch. He wrapped it around the still figure on the floor_. "For once in your life, get your mind outta the gutter!"_ he hissed inwardly at his kitsune half. He continued to say her name, trying to wake her before the medics arrived. When she continued to stay still, his heart froze in his throat. Had he been too late for her?

Just then, two medics came in the apartment, carrying a stretcher and other equipment. One looked at the redhead in the room and as he commanded him to move, Kurama obeyed. After the medics put her on the stretcher, they proceeded to go down the stairs.

Kurama followed them to the door. There had to be something he could do. "I'm coming, too!" he said, and as they nodded (and didn't need to argue anyway), they made their way to the ambulance and left her apartment.

Fifteen minutes went by, and in the waiting room, Yusuke was reading a magazine while Kurama looked at the floor, trying to piece what he had seen together. Andrea was just fine when he left her earlier that night. Yusuke looked up from the magazine he was reading. "So, what'd you see?" he asked the redhead.

Kurama shrugged, looking up at Yusuke. "Hardly anything. It was dark."

Yusuke's brown eyes narrowed slightly. "I got a bad feeling he tried again."

"I do too." Kurama watched as a doctor and a nurse talked for a few minutes. They nodded and then the nurse went to another room. The redhead tried to figure out what they were talking about, but the conversation had been short.

Yusuke's attention span, however, was short enough. He looked at the nurse as she walked off. "Hey, she's cute," he said.

Kurama didn't even look at Yusuke as he made his comment. "I was more concerned over their conversation then her facial features." He watched as the same doctor looked at a chart with his brow furrowed. _What were they talking about?_ Kurama thought. _What is he thinking?_

Almost as if his mind were being read, the doctor looked at them, fixing his glasses. He walked into the waiting room and sat down in a chair not far from the four boys in the room. "How are you all related to the patient?" he asked them.

Yusuke pointed at Kurama. "Well, he's her boyfriend…"

Kurama held his index finger up. _"Friend,"_ he emphasized. Yusuke was back to himself again. And under normal circumstances, that wasn't good.

The doctor raised his eyebrow, not really wanting to know what they were talking about. "O… Kay," he said hesitantly.

Hiei, who had been sitting in a silence that would make the hospital look like the mall on Christmas Day, looked up from his chair. "We're all friends of the patient," he explained to the doctor.

The doctor fixed his glasses as he looked at the chart with Andrea's name on it. "Well, the bullet grazed her head near her frontal lobe," he started to explain.

Youko rolled his eyes inside Shuichi's head. **"Tell us something we don't know already!"**

"_Patience,"_ was Kurama's mental answer to his kitsune half. He looked at the doctor. He knew how serious Andrea's condition was and what was possible. "Will she live?" she asked the doctor, almost point-blank.

"That's the tricky part," the doctor answered, looking back at Andrea's medical files for a second. "Due to the fact that she had hit her head earlier and also when she hit the floor, she's got a definite concussion." He took his glasses off and looked at them. "She's in ICU at the moment in a stage between stable and critical."

Youko was getting even more upset. Andrea could be worse off, and his human half was just sitting there! **"Okay, that's it! He's really getting that Death Tree now!"**

Kurama only remained calm. _"Youko, he's the only one who can bring Andrea back."_

"**No, I meant the ex."**

"_Oh, right. Then go right ahead. As soon as we find him."_

As the doctor moved, his nametag came into view and read "Dr. Yamaguchi." He gave the boys a slightly worried look. "But that's not all," he added. "We found some other marks on her, defensive marks." As he saw Hiei raise an eyebrow, the doctor continued his response. "From what I observed, she was probably in a struggle."

_That makes sense,_ Kurama thought. He knew Andrea would never go down without a fight, but with how serious her condition looked at the moment, he wasn't really sure of what else to say, so he kept quiet.

Dr. Yamaguchi looked at a piece of paper while putting on his glasses again. "We managed to get some DNA off of her. It's a male, possibly an intruder."

When Kurama heard the word "male," his mind snapped to attention. The only male Andrea would let in her apartment was himself, but that was it. And that was what hit him. She may not have invited him, but Kurama had a sinking feeling that he was in the apartment. "Cross reference it with a Jason Lee Westbrook from Orlando, Florida in the United States," he said, knowing that something wasn't sitting right.

The doctor nodded. "Of course," he said and as he started to get up, a nurse brought him a piece of paper. He nodded as the nurse bowed and walked away. As Yusuke looked at the nurse, Kuwabara clocked him.

Hiei gave Yusuke a look. "Whatever happened to Yukimura?" he asked him.

"I'm still with Keiko," Yusuke answered, almost as if he were offended.

Which was Hiei's intention. "Then why are you checking out the nurse?"

"Looking for an outfit like that for Keiko."

Hiei looked at Yusuke weird as Kurama looked at the doctor, knowing for a fact that there was something he wasn't saying. He was trying everything in the world to hide the worry for his friend inside.

The doctor nodded, feeling what the redhead was feeling. "Excuse me for a moment," he said before he stood up and walked off to another room.

Still having that same feeling, Kurama looked at Hiei. "Hiei, I need a favor," he said to the fire demon.

Hiei's ruby eyes looked up at Kurama. "Yes?" he asked the redhead.

"Can you spy on the doctor for me?"

"I'll need a cover." Hiei looked around for something and found a magazine that Yusuke and Kuwabara were both looking at. _Perfect,_ he thought as he grabbed the magazine.

Yusuke blinked and looked at Hiei. "Hey!"

"I need it." And with that being said, Hiei opened the magazine and unfastened the Jagan to spy on the doctor, who was in another room looking at a piece of paper. As Hiei, through his Jagan, looked around the room, a rapid beeping noise came from out of nowhere. /1/

Kurama jerked upwards as Yusuke sat up, almost asleep. "Keiko, that wasn't me!" he said.

"Doctor!" a nurse called out and walked into the room where the doctor was. "The patient in Room 431 is going into cardiac arrest!" The nurse and the doctor raced out of the room he was in and into another room.

"Wonder where he went to," Kuwabara said as he looked around.

Kurama's eyes slightly widened. Andrea was in Room 431! "That's Andrea's room!" he said, the worry starting to become known on his face. _Come on, Andrea,_ he thought. _You have to fight it._

Yusuke's eyes widened as well. "Holy..." he started before Kuwabara popped him.

The doctor came back out of the room, where the beeping had gone back to normal, although slightly slower. He still didn't know that Hiei was still spying on him as he walked into the waiting room and sat down, taking off his glasses.

Kurama looked at Hiei from behind the magazine. "Got anything, Hiei?" he asked him.

Hiei shook his head. "Not yet," he answered as Kuwabara blinked.

Yusuke looked at Kuwabara, cracking a smile. "What's wrong; hospital got you scared?"

Kuwabara had always hated his "tickle" feelings, and this was one of those times. "No, you moron. Something happened," he answered.

"You're telling me," Hiei said from behind the magazine. "Doc's quiet."

The doctor took a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Yusuke looked at the doctor. "So, what happened?" he asked. "She's gonna be okay, right?"

Dr. Yamaguchi looked at the four boys and took another deep breath, bracing himself for a great many questions or looks of disbelief. "I'm afraid your friend's taken a turn for the worst," he said. "She's now in critical condition."

Kurama's face paled almost immediately. Andrea was doing just fine and now she was worse? Part of Kurama didn't want to believe it, while the other part of him wanted to know what happened.

"She just slipped into a coma a few minutes ago," the doctor added.

Kuwabara didn't really look any better. "Any chance she'll come out of it?" he asked, hoping the doctor said yes.

"There's no telling due to the concussion she has at the moment," the doctor said, looking at them somberly. "I'm sorry; that's all I can tell you at the moment." With that, he walked away to give them time to absorb what had just happened.

Yusuke looked at Kurama's pale face and blank stare at the floor. "You okay?" he asked the kitsune, but when he didn't answer, Yusuke shook Kurama, trying to snap the redhead out of his daze. "Hey, are you all right?"

Kurama continued to look at the floor. _"How could I have let this happen?"_ he asked mentally.

"**You didn't know."**

"_I should have seen it."_

"**Look, you can't blame yourself, Kurama."**

Which was what Kurama was doing right now. In a way, he felt responsible for not getting to Andrea sooner. And now she was fighting for her life. _"I should have..."_

"**Should have what?"**

"_I should have predicated. I should have guessed..."_

Through his Jagan, Hiei heard everything and pushed Yusuke away.

Youko tried to say something to snap his Shuichi side out of it. **"Well, she couldn't really tell you that her ex would try and kill her the night before."**

"_But..."_ But before Kurama could say anything else to Youko, Hiei had smacked him in the face. Kurama blinked in surprise. He knew Hiei had never done that before, and from the looks on Yusuke and Kuwabara's faces, they didn't know, either.

Hiei gave the fox a piercing look, one that meant business. "Get over it, Kurama," he said to him. "It wasn't your fault. You can't predict every attack!"

Kurama knew Hiei was right, but still… he felt he should have done something to help her. "But, I should have..." his voice sounded slightly distant, unsure.

"Possibly, yes, but there was no way you would have known he was going after her tonight. It wasn't your fault!"

Kurama clenched his fist tightly, as if he were battling everyone around him, and looked at Hiei. "You can say that!" he answered, his voice uncommonly raising an octave. "But you don't know! You don't know what it's like to be guilty."

"Maybe so, but I know where to place the blame. It goes to two people: Those who know how to take it, and those who know where it truly lies. And it's not in you."

Yusuke looked at Kurama. He had never seen Kurama so torn up over Andrea before. That was then he remembered when Kurama's mother was in the hospital. Sure it wasn't the same, but how he felt was the same. "You know, if Andrea was awake, she'd slap you into next week," he said to him.

Kurama hung his head, letting his crimson tresses hang down the sides of his head. Andrea was one of the most selfless people he knew. And he knew that Andrea wouldn't want him to worry about her, although Kurama was already past that.

Hiei looked at the fox. "Kurama, it's all right to blame you," he said in a low tone. "There is no one who does not carry scars on his heart, if there were such a person, he would be a shallow bastard." /2/

Youko had a thought; luckily for Kurama, it wasn't anything mate-ish. **"You know what her name means?"**

"_It's American. I haven't studied that yet."_

"**It means 'courageous.' That means that she's going to look Death in the eye and kick him between the legs!"**

Kurama laughed inwardly. That was Andrea; she'd probably cheat Death. But then again, her condition had worsened in such a short amount of time. He looked at Hiei and the others. "So, what'll we do?" he asked just as the doctor walked back in viewing distance.

"We find him and kill him," Hiei answered quietly. He didn't need to have the doctor overhearing everything.

"When we find him, you get first whack," Yusuke said as the doctor walked up to them.

Kurama nodded and then looked at the doctor. "Can we see her?"

The doctor nodded, leading the four boys to the room where their friend lay. "You all may go in, but don't talk as loud."

Kurama and Hiei walked up to the room while Kuwabara and Yusuke walked in and got stuck in the doorway. They looked at each other and sweatdropped.

"Kuwabara, move your fat butt out of the way!" Yusuke said, trying to get in.

"Hey! My butt is not that big!" Kuwabara protested. "You get out of the way!"

"You move it!"

Hiei looked at Kurama. "So which is bigger? Dumb or dumber?" he asked, and at that moment, Yusuke and Kuwabara got out of the doorway. "Hn, idiots."

Kurama walked in the room and took a deep breath. Andrea lay on the hospital bed, an IV in her left arm. Her bobbed hair covered her ears and the monitors beeped in a slow but steady rhythm. A nasal oxygen appliance was hooked up to one of the machines while another dripped fluids into her arm slowly. _She looks so peaceful, so serene,_ he thought as he walked up to the bed.

Yusuke peered his head in and looked on as Kurama sat down in a chair near her bed. "Better leave them alone." Under his breath, he added, "Boyfriend."

Hiei elbowed Yusuke in the gut, which made Kuwabara almost laugh. "Let's go. We'll give you a minute," he told Kurama.

"Thanks, guys," he answered, smiling slightly.

Kuwabara grabbed Yusuke and dragged him away from the room, Hiei following after he closed the door behind them.

Kurama listened to the rhythm of the machines for a minute while he took a deep breath. He still felt at fault for what happened to her. "Hey, Andrea," he said after another minute of silence. "It's me. I wish you could talk back, and then you'd give me one of your snide remarks."

As the monitors and the steady rhythm of the IVs were his only reply, he continued.

"I can't say I blame myself. I had a feeling when it happened. I knew something was wrong with where you were. Youko made some snide remarks of his own about it..." He stopped as Andrea's free hand slid to her side and he looked at it.

"**Yo, Shuichi, do I have to explain to you how this works?"**

Kurama felt like smacking Youko, but he could always do that later. _"Please, this once, Youko, let me figure it out."_

"**Okay."**

"We're going to find him, the guys and I. We're going to find him and take care of him for you. I don't know when, I don't know how, but we will, and he'll get what he deserves. Till then, please get better." As he held onto her limp hand, Kurama struggled to keep exploding. "I have to go know to give the guys a chance to talk to you. Don't be too hard on Yusuke and Kuwabara, all right?" The redhead squeezed her hand lightly and stood up to walk out of the room.

When Kurama walked out of the room, Kuwabara looked at him. "She any better?"

Kurama shook his head.

"Who's up?"

"Who ever wants to go first," Hiei answered.

"Okay, I'll go." As Kurama nodded, Kuwabara walked in and closed the door behind him. The carrot-haired Tantei sat down in the chair next to the bed and took a deep breath. Maybe a joke would help her come out of it. "You remember that time where Yusuke tried that prank call on you while you and Kurama were watching that movie? You sure did get him good! I don't know how he made it to the bathroom after he hung up..."

There was not even a groan from the girl on the bed, only a steady stream of beeps answered him.

Kuwabara scratched his head. That sure didn't help. "So, uh... we need you back, well, basically so I can ask your advice on Yukina. I guess I should've kept my mouth shut, huh?" He looked around, praying to Enma that Hiei didn't hear that. "Okay, uh, I'll let short round or Urameshi talk to you now. Just get better and..." He looked around and whispered in Andrea's ear, "Help." He petted her on the head and left the room.

Hiei looked up at Kuwabara as he walked out.

"Still not up yet," Kuwabara reported.

Kurama looked at Yusuke, having a feeling that Hiei was going to hurt Kuwabara later on. "Yusuke, will you go next?" he asked him.

"Yep," Yusuke answered and walked into the room. "Hey, Andrea. Um, remember when I first said that a girl couldn't be a Spirit Detective? Well, you sure kicked my butt." He knew that joking wouldn't help her. "Back in the waiting room, Kurama thought it was his fault you were here. Thank Enma Hiei popped him, though knowing you; you'd pop all six tails back in him, wouldn't you?"

Silence answered him, save for the steady beeps.

"So, get better, okay? If not for the team, then do it for the fox with a crush on you." Yusuke blinked and covered his mouth. "You won't tell him I said that?"

Andrea didn't even flinch.

"No problem. Oh, and kick that baby between the legs when you get back, okay?" he said. "Get better; I need some competition." With that he left the room.

Kurama looked at Yusuke as he walked out, and all he got was a shrug.

Hiei looked up at Kurama. "I will go now," he said to the redhead.

Kurama nodded. "Thanks, Hiei," he said as Hiei walked in.

Hiei walked further into the room and looked at the comatose girl. "Andrea... Kurama says that if you talk to a person, they'll come back faster," he said and then looked off. "Stupid ningen superstition probably isn't true."

The same beeps as before were Hiei's only answer.

"Kurama started blaming himself for what happened," he continued. "I overheard. Wasn't supposed to I guess, but with a Jagan, it's kinda hard to stay out of things like this, you know." He looked up again at the bed. "I popped him over the head to get him straight. Probably have to apologize for it later."

The room was silent except for the beeps.

"We're gonna find that sorry bastard, Andrea. And when we do we're gonna kick his cowardly ass." Hiei took a deep breath. "Till then, get back. Somebody needs to help Yukimura keep the Detective in line, and someone needs to help the idiot to not scare Yukina. Unfortunately, you're the only one who qualifies." Hiei thought of the distraught fox outside. "And Kurama, he'd fall apart. You're the only thing tying him down now, 'sides his ningen mother. If you won't come back for anyone else, then you will for him."

Andrea didn't even blink or move.

"You make up an important part of this team, Andrea. We need you. Kurama needs you. Come back, okay?" He turned to walk out but stopped. "Besides, who else would kick the hell outta the Reikai brat." With that, he left the room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's Notes:

/1/ I think that's when your heart beats really, really fast.

/2/ Hiei said that to Kurama in "Poltergeist Report."

((Looks like things are going under for the team. Will Andrea survive her ordeal, and is this the only other danger she has left? All that in the next chapter.))

Cece: Once again, another cliffy.

Kurama: Maybe we should stop on the cliffhangers for a while.

Cece: I agree. Well, review here.


	8. Restless Night

Restless Night

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Look, you guys. If I did own YYH, I sure wouldn't be writing fanfiction.))

Kurama: This may be Cece's toughest chapter thus far.

Cece: Might? Took me about three days just to think of the chapter title.

Yusuke: I'm just wondering where the romance starts in this.

Kurama: Yusuke!

Cece: Get your mind out of the gutter, Urameshi! Anyway, read on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The team separated for the night. By that time, Kurama was walking down the street back towards home. His emerald green eyes were filled with mixed emotions: anger for Jason hurting Andrea, worry if she would make it, and guilt for not being at her apartment sooner. Of all three emotions, his face showed more guilt than the other two. "Why didn't I stay at her apartment?" Kurama asked himself, not really knowing Hiei was right beside him. "Then, she wouldn't be there."

The Youko in him shook his head. **"And if you did? Then YOU'D be there in that hospital, and your girlfriend..."**

"_Youko, she's not my girlfriend!"_

"**Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight."**

"You couldn't have done anything." A familiar voice broke in the conversation.

Kurama blinked and turned around, seeing the source of the familiar voice. Now he felt embarrassed at first talking to himself and now thinking to a Youko who thought any girl he looked at was his girlfriend. "Hiei," he said his friend's name, trying to hide the worry that was evident in his voice.

Hiei rolled his ruby eyes. "No, I'm the idiot with the dancing cat," he said half-sarcastically.

Kurama gave him a blank stare with a sweatdrop down his head. Trying to imagine that Hiei was Kuwabara was odd indeed. "Reading my thoughts again?" he asked his friend, leaning against a tree.

"No, it's plain as day on your face."

Kurama blinked his jade eyes. He was trying to hide the pain in his eyes and his face, but evidently, Hiei saw right through him. "I don't understand what you mean," he answered, looking at his friend.

"Don't give me that load of shit," Hiei said to him. Hiei knew there was something wrong with Kurama, and it started at the hospital. Something about Andrea made him tick, and it didn't take a genius to sense that. "You know what I'm talking about."

"She's not my girlfriend, Hiei, if that's what you're implying."

Hiei flitted to the branch above the kitsune and looked down at him. "It's not, but you can't predict every disaster that'll happen to a person you care for each second of every day."

"**Or a person you love..."** Youko said in his mind.

Kurama smacked Youko mentally. _"Shut up!"_

Hiei crossed his arms against his chest and gave a ruby-colored gaze down at Kurama. "Thing is, Kurama, you couldn't have predicted that she would be hurt by him," he continued. "These things just happen. You know that. Remember?"

"But it didn't "just happen," Hiei," he answered, sitting down under the tree. "I think he waited for a night when he knew she would be alone."

"Kurama, it's her apartment. She's alone every night."

"**Not that night when you became her pillow, Shuichi,"** Youko's voice entered his brain.

"_Don't make me feed you to Hiei's Dragon."_

Since Kurama wasn't answering him, Hiei continued. "Kurama, you can't fix everything. Like you couldn't fix your mother's illness without the mirror. You nearly died to see her happy. What if you had died? Would she be happy that her only son sacrificed himself to save her?"

Kurama only looked at the ground, knowing Hiei had a very good point.

"She wouldn't have been happy. Her son died while she had lived. Yusuke was right in what he said. No mother should see the death of her only child. It's about the only thing he got right."

Hiei was right about that, and that was why Kurama wasn't answering him.

"Same is said about Andrea. If you had been there, you would have died. I heard the reports last night. The power lines went out. The whole building was pitch black. With your human senses, you wouldn't have even seen him."

Finally, after a long silence, Kurama opened his mouth. "How could Andrea slip into a coma in that short amount of time?"

"Shock then coma," Hiei corrected.

The image of Jason's face burned in the back of Kurama's mind. "I have a feeling I know who did it. But I shouldn't pursue it now."

"I agree. You should get some rest till your head's back on straight. You're not thinking clearly tonight and will most likely disrupt you during your raid."

"**How could he think straight? His girlfriend almost got killed!" **Youko said in Kurama's mind as Kurama mentally smacked him with an oak branch.

"I'll check on you tomorrow. If I say you are unfit, you wait till I say you are. Agreed?"

Kurama nodded his head and headed for home. He had never acted like this before. Now it seemed that Andrea invaded his mind more than it should. Just the thought of Andrea lying in the hospital, defenseless, made him uneasy.

Meanwhile, Shiori had woken up to hear the door close. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she got out of bed and walked downstairs. She looked at a clock, which read 2:30AM. She blinked again as she found the remote and turned on the TV. Her eyes widened at the breaking news.

"We've just received word that 17-year-old Andrea Stone has now slipped into a coma about 25 minutes ago. There's still no word..."

Shiori raised a hand to her mouth in shock as Kurama walked back in. She heard the last of the report doe away as she looked at her son. "Shuichi, where have you been?" she asked the redhead.

Kurama blinked his emerald eyes and looked at his mother. "Mother, you're awake?"

Shiori nodded and stood up, a worried look in her eyes. "Did you hear?"

"What?"

"It was just on the news," Shiori answered. "Andrea's in a coma."

The mere mention of her name made Kurama feel even guiltier, like he could have helped her sooner. "Yeah, I, uh, I knew."

"What kind of person would hurt her? She's such a sweet girl."

"**Someone who's going to die very slowly..."** Youko said in Kurama's mind.

"_Calm down, Youko,"_ Kurama mentally told his kitsune half before outwardly answering his mother. "A cruel man, Mother. A cruel man."

Remembering that it was still early in the morning, Shiori took a deep breath, which ended in a yawn in her hand. "Well, I should get back to sleep. Good night, dear."

"Good night, Mother," Kurama said as his mother went up the stairs. Then he went to his room and lay down on the bed, looking at the ceiling. Part of him wanted to hunt him down, but another side of him couldn't find the strength to. Most of him, however, was in shock. Andrea was now fighting for her life, and there was nothing he could do except pray she would recover quickly.

A flicker of light caught Kurama's eye, making him look to his desk and pick up an object; it was Andrea's angel pendant that she had given him over a year ago. His mind floated back to when she gave it to him…

(Start Flashback)

"Oh, there's something I want to give you," Andrea said, digging into her purse and pulling out an angel pendant with a chain.

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "What's this for?"

Andrea clasped the necklace around his neck. "Who knows?" She whispered in his ear. "When you're fighting, you'll know I'm with you."

Kurama smiled again. "Same with me with your hardships."

(End Flashback)

Kurama looked at the pendant again. It was a silver angel holding a blue-colored gemstone. _It matches Andrea's eyes,_ he thought to himself as he gently picked it up. "Sapphire…" he mumbled as he looked at the stone closely. A smile graced his once-concerned face as he set it back gently on the desk.

He let out a small chuckle as he swore he could hear Andrea's voice inside his head. _Go to sleep, Kurama. I'll be all right._ He blinked and looked around, only to find he was alone in his room. He laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. Maybe some sleep would do him good.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

((Sorry about the long wait. I wanted to write this last week, but there were thunderstorms all last week. I know it's short, but hope you like it anyway.))


	9. Confusion

Confusion

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Okay, me no own YYH.))

Cece: Here's the next chapter. I actually hope it's better than the last one.

Yusuke: What do you mean, you hope?

Kurama: She's slightly busy this week, so she's going as fast as she can.

Cece: Read on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Three long weeks had gone by, and with every visit from Kurama, Andrea still hadn't awoken from her coma. The doctors weren't holding out much hope for the young girl. It had already been three weeks, and she hadn't moved at all, except to breathe.

Kurama stayed in her hospital room that night, in-between work and college. Sure it was only a few hours each night, but if it would help Andrea regain consciousness, it was well worth his free time. Besides, Koenma had already given him a "vacation." To Kurama, the "vacation" meant to get his kitsune rear in gear.

"So, the DNA results came back," he said to her immobile form. "Jason was in your apartment that night." He reached up to brush the bangs from her eyes. Her hair had grown slightly over the weeks, but even with him moving her bangs, she still didn't move.

"Mr. Minamino?" A pretty nurse with her dark brown hair in a bun looked at the redhead. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I have to check her vitals."

"Of course," he answered, getting out of the nurse's way so she could check on his friend. He watched as the nurse checked her blood pressure and her temperature. Kurama read the machine and sighed in relief as they were both normal, although her blood pressure was a little lower than normal.

"She'll be just fine," the nurse said, giving Kurama a platinum smile at his direction. "She's doing quite nicely, although she isn't awake yet."

Kurama looked at the slumbering girl on the bed, wishing she would open those blue eyes and look at him again. "I know Andrea," he answered. "She's a lot tougher than she looks."

"So I've heard," the nurse replied. "She must be one incredible woman."

_You have no idea,_ he thought as Kurama nodded his head. "She is," he answered outwardly. "She's a strong one, too. Probably stronger than me."

"Well, your friend here has a fighting chance," the nurse said, smiling as she saw the machines beeping in a steady rhythm. The smile faded, though, when she noticed that the girl's face revealed the bruises. "She must have fought back."

Kurama closed his eyes and tried to picture what Andrea had gone through just a short three weeks ago. She probably saw him as an intruder and tried what she could to stop him, only to now lay cold and still in the bed in front of him. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Well, I better get back to my rounds," the nurse said, smiling once again at Kurama. "Listen, the cafeteria's down near the main lobby. Why don't you get something to eat?"

Kurama blinked. "Hmm?"

"You must have been here all day," the nurse explained. "I'm sure your friend wouldn't mind you leaving her side for just a few minutes."

Kurama would have answered if it weren't for his stomach to suddenly growl, which made him turn slightly red from embarrassment. "All right," he conceded after a moment of silence.

The nurse nodded as she left the room and Kurama alone with Andrea.

Kurama walked around to the side of Andrea's hospital bed and stood next to her. "I'll be out for about five minutes," he said to her. "I'll be back up here, I promise." With that, he smoothed the hair against her forehead and left the room.

The walk to the cafeteria was quieter than Kurama had first thought. He looked at other family members whose relatives were also in the hospital walking by him. He had felt the same way as he did when his mother was admitted. First his mother, and now a very close friend, one that some had said was his other half, his love. But he didn't know what to feel… or how to act towards her.

A tug on his pant leg interrupted his train of thought. Looking down, he saw the face of a child, merely of eleven years old. "You look down, mister," she said, her grape eyes looking up at him.

Kurama smiled gently. "I'm all right," he answered, knowing he was lying. He wasn't fine; he wouldn't be fine until he could sort everything out. He grabbed a small plate of teriyaki chicken and some potato salad. After he had paid for everything, he felt the same tug on his pant leg and looked down again, to see the same girl again.

"Here," she said, thrusting a stuffed animal into his hand.

Kurama blinked. It was a gray stuffed seal, dingy but gray. He felt a small smile rise on his face as he remembered of how Andrea loved the aquariums. "No, no, this is yours," he said, starting to give the plush back.

But the girl pushed it back into Kurama's hand. "Your friend needs someone," she said, her purple eyes insisting that he take the stuffed animal.

"Thank you," he said, bowing as the girl bowed and skipped off. He went to the elevator, holding the tray in one hand while his other hand held the seal.

Meanwhile, a dark haired figure had walked inside the hospital and walked to the front desk.

"May I help you?" the nurse asked him.

"I'm here to see Andrea Stone," he answered.

The nurse started looking through the records, unaware that he had already seen her room number. "Oh, she's here, but I'm afraid her very close friends and family are the only ones to see her," she replied.

The dark-haired man left the front desk and smiled. Now all he needed was a way to get to her. Smothering her face with a pillow? No, that was too messy. Then, an idea clicked on inside his head. He knew what to do. He ducked inside a closet and turned the light on. "Oh, yes, this is perfect," he said to himself as he donned a surgical cap, mask, and a green gown.

Smiling beneath the mask, he stepped out of the room and headed down the hall. _Now… time to get the treatment,_ he thought as he neared the floor. The elevator dinged and he stepped off and into another room, this one a makeshift paradise. "Yes," he said, picking up a syringe and finding a bottle. There, he filled it to as much as he could. "Oh, don't worry, you won't feel a thing."

He walked out of the room, the syringe in one pocket, as he passed a waiting room where the TV was broadcasting.

"Please be on the lookout for an 18-year-old Caucasian male named Jason Lee Westbrook. He has escaped police custody and is considered armed and very dangerous…"

He shook his head. _They'll never catch me,_ he thought as he neared Andrea's hospital room. "Poor little Andrea, your boyfriend's not here to save you this time," he said quietly as he felt the syringe with his fingers.

Meanwhile, Kurama had already returned to Andrea's room and laid the stuffed seal the little girl gave him at her side. "I just wish you could feel this little guy," he said, wrapping her limp arm around the seal. He froze as something struck his mind. When he looked up at the TV, he saw that Jason had escaped. _He wouldn't dare try to kill her here…_ he thought, but had another thought. _Maybe he would… he wants Andrea out of the way._ He stepped quietly behind the door as he watched a green-clothed man enter the room.

Taking out the syringe that had been in his pocket, he smiled behind his disguise. "This is almost too easy," he said to himself as he came within a few feet from Andrea's bed.

Kurama felt a slow anger start to rise up in him. How dare he try to kill someone who can't even fight back! Knowing it was now or never, he jumped from behind the door and tackled the ex to the floor. The syringe clattered out of the other man's hand and hit the wall. As Kurama pulled off the mask and the cap, he looked at him. "So, trying again where you have failed?" he asked him.

Jason tried to swing his fist into Kurama's face, but the redhead easily dodged his blow and sent a karate-chop to his neck, making him hit the floor. He got back up and started to retrieve the dropped syringe, but Kurama tackled him again and pulled him away from the deadly needle.

A nurse had started to walk in the room but stopped as she saw one man struggling against another's hold. She raised a hand to her mouth in alarm as she hit a button for security.

"Security to Room 431! Security to Room 431!" the PA system announced.

Kurama looked at Jason, his emerald green eyes starting to give way to gold. "If you even come around her again, I'll kill you," he growled.

Jason took a chance and shoved himself away from Kurama and raced out the door… into the waiting arms of security guards.

The nurse peered in the room at them. "Oh, are you all right, sir?" she asked Kurama.

The redhead straightened his clothes slightly. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you," he answered, giving the nurse a comforting smile.

"Actually, we should be thanking you," one of the security guards said to Kurama as he entered the room. "You may have saved this woman's life."

Kurama blinked, looking at Andrea's comatose form. Sure it was an instinct to help, as much as he could for his friends, but was it instinct or something else entirely?

The guard had picked up the needle by the tips of his fingers and put it in a plastic bag. "You're her hero, and she'll want to thank you when she comes out of it."

"I just was here at the right place at the right time," Kurama answered.

"Come on, you!" the other guard said, helping his buddy with dragging the beaten-up Jason out of the hospital.

Kurama looked back at Andrea, who still didn't move. "What's happened to me?" he asked himself. "I've never said that before." He wasn't sure what to make of what had just happened. _Youko couldn't have tried to reappear,_ he thought. But then again, who would believe Jason of what he had just seen?

"Mr. Minamino?"

Kurama turned his head to see the nurse who had pressed the button for security. "Yes, miss?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but visiting hours are over now," she said as she bowed and left.

Kurama looked at his watch. It was already past 11:30, and it was late. He went over to Andrea's bed and held her hand for a minute. "Don't worry, Andrea," he said. "He won't hurt you again." Patting her hand lightly, he stood up and walked out of the room. He looked at her doctor, Dr. Yamaguchi. "Please call me if there are any changes."

The doctor nodded his head. "Yes, of course, sir," he answered, going back to his chart.

Kurama took a deep breath and left for the elevator. This wild evening had come to an end… or so he thought.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

((What else is going to happen tonight? Can it be something good or something bad? Find out in the next chapter.))

Cece: Whoo! Okay, leave me a line of what you think.

Kurama: (eats a Whopper) And don't forget the mint-flavored water.

Cece: Kurama!

Kurama: What?


	10. Dream a Little Dream

Dream a Little Dream

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Okay, here's where I stand: If I DID own YYH, I wouldn't be living in a one-horse town here.))

Cece: Well, after a good day off, I figured to keep going until this story's over.

Kurama: Good idea. Then you have to work on some others.

Cece: Yep. Well, anyway, read on. Hope y'all like.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kurama had just gotten home from everything that had happened. His mind was swimming as he lay down on his bed and looked at the ceiling. What was Kurama's real reason for saving Andrea earlier that night? Could it just have been instinct, or was it something totally different? Maybe a good night's sleep would clear everything up.

However, just when he was almost asleep, Kurama blinked his emerald green eyes as Youko talked to him telepathically.

"**That's it, Shuichi; just go to sleep," **Youko said to him softly as he knew his human side's struggle to stay awake.

Kurama shook his head, trying to keep his eyes open. "I cannot. She might awake anytime," he answered.

"**What? At 12:30AM, she's still out."**

"You never know. She might wake..." Kurama never finished his sentence. And as Youko said his human name, he saw that the redhead was finally asleep.

"**Good, he's asleep... now to slip into his mate's mind..."** With that, Youko slipped out of his human body and flew to the hospital window where Andrea still lay in her hospital bed. Smiling, he went inside her mind.

(Inside Andrea's Mind)

Andrea started walking down a dark hallway, wearing her long, dark-blue nightshirt, which almost went down to her ankles. Her face, however, didn't look relaxed. "I'm just making Kurama and the others suffer, and I don't want them to," she said as she looked up and saw a bright light. "Maybe that's the way out..." She started back walking down the hallway, unaware that Youko was right behind her. "I can't let him suffer like this... I can't let him worry about me..."

"Andrea, stop."

Andrea froze in mid-step and blinked. The voice sounded familiar, but yet it was different.

"Turn around."

Andrea obeyed the voice but looked down at the floor, not wanting whoever the voice was to see the pain in her eyes. "Why?"

"Do you know me?"

Andrea looked up, and as she saw the silver hair and fox ears, her voice crammed into her throat. She knew exactly who it was. "Youko..." she said before turning back around and trying not to break down.

Youko's fox ears twitched as he heard the girl in front of him struggling to gain her well-guarded composure, but she was failing horribly. "Why are you upset?" he asked her.

Andrea couldn't turn back around. "I'm torturing him!" she answered, making an audible sniffle. "All month, every day..."

"He is worried for you, yes, but torture, no."

"You don't understand." Andrea leaned against the wall of her mind. "I mean emotionally, he'll probably get an ulcer or something for worrying about me for this long. And he doesn't need to."

Youko placed a hand on her shoulder. "Shuichi is worried for you very much, but if you leave forever, you'll hurt him even more."

Andrea turned her head away. "He won't need to worry about me anymore," she answered.

Youko towered over the young girl in front of him. "Yes, that's true. But imagine what would happen if you do walk through that door. What do you believe would happen?" he asked her.

Andrea shrugged her shoulders. "Can't be any worse than what I had to go through," she answered. "My parents are dead, my adopted parents, too... having to witness people dying all around me..."

"What of your friends?"

"Most of them either died or moved away."

Youko raised an eyebrow. "Really? I seem to remember quite a few people worried about you when you were hurt." As he saw Andrea looking at the door, he continued. "There was Yusuke and Keiko..."

"Keiko's the smart one," she answered.

"That she is. And Kuwabara and Yukina..."

"The one couple Hiei prays won't happen." As Andrea looked at the door again, she felt Youko's hand slip off of her shoulder as she started again to the door that would take away everything.

Youko knew he had to stop her, so he kept naming off different people, trying to get her to stop. "What about Hiei? And Koenma and Botan?"

"Hiei can knock them out easily."

Youko knew there was one person left, the one person who could possibly stop Andrea from making a terrible mistake. "What about Shuichi?"

Hearing Kurama's human name, she stopped in mid step again and looked at the floor.

Youko had hit the jackpot; he got her to stop. "How do you think he would feel if you went away?"

"He'll be fine; he's a tough guy. He can handle it," she answered.

Youko's ears twitched at her answer, not one that he expected, but at least she wasn't walking again. "Physically, or emotionally?"

"Both." Then, almost as suddenly as she stopped, she continued walking towards the door again. "I don't want him to suffer by sitting by me every day, knowing I can't wake up."

Youko shook his head. Here he went again. Shuichi was right about one thing with Andrea; she was stubborn. "What if you never wake up?" he asked.

Andrea continued to walk as she spoke. "He would have preferred me to slip away quietly into the night."

"Andrea, stop and think about this for a second!"

She stopped all right, with her fists clenched. She was so close now! In the back of her mind, she was alone. And that was what she was feeling at the moment. "What's to think about?"

Youko grabbed her arms and turned her around, making Andrea face him whether she wanted to or not. "Shuichi, baka!" he answered, shaking her with the first two words of his answer. "Think about Shuichi! And all your other friends in this world. Botan had to put one friend in Reikai already before she was wished back. You think she wants to do that a second time!"

Andrea looked at the floor, forgotten tears welling in her eyes. She couldn't let them fall; she wouldn't. "Shuichi will be fine. He doesn't need a girl who almost got him killed!"

"You think he minds protecting you! You think he despises a person who needs his constant protection at every situation! He doesn't! He's a warrior! It's what he does! He cares enough for you to take care of you when you're hurt. He cares for you!"

As Andrea continued to look at the floor, the tears wanted out of her eyes, but she was trying to hang on to what composure she had left. "Just how much?" she asked quietly.

"Enough to stay up all night, praying that the phone would ring and the doctors saying you're awake and healthy," Youko answered, glad to hear Andrea's meek voice.

But Andrea turned from meek into concerned as she shot straight up like an arrow. "He did what!" she asked him in disbelief.

Youko nodded. She had a right to know what Shuichi had been like for the whole month. "He stays up every night. Waiting for the phone to ring. Waiting for you to wake up."

With everything Youko was saying to her, Andrea's self-control was hanging by a thread. But there was still one question she needed to ask. "Did he say anything?"

"He says, 'I can't go to sleep. She might wake at any time. I have to be there for her when she does.' It's the same every night."

Finally, Andrea cracked like an egg smashing on the kitchen floor. She couldn't stay steady anymore and she suddenly dropped to the floor and buried her face in her hands as Youko held onto her. The tears that had been struggling to fall finally did and slid down her cheeks. "He wants me to come back?" she asked.

Youko nodded, his silver bangs swishing in front of his golden eyes. "Very much. Took him hours before he finally went to sleep tonight."

Andrea felt like a rag doll when she heard his answer and dried her now-wet eyes. "I bet he thinks I'm selfish right now..."

Youko shook his head. "He never thought that lowly of you. And I should know."

Letting out a sniffle, she asked, "What does he think of me?"

"He thinks you're a very brave young lady who just needs a little help to find herself on the right path. And he believes he is that help."

"Even though my life's not a bed of roses?" As Youko nodded, Andrea continued. "And what do you think of me?"

Youko smiled down at her, trying to get the young girl in front of him to do the same. "Same as Shuichi. You are a brave girl, and I would be honored for you to be with Shuichi."

Andrea blinked in confusion. "Be with him?" When Youko nodded, she tilted her head to the side, still horribly confused. "As in?"

"Being his friend, his companion, whatever you wish yourself to be."

Once again, Andrea looked at the floor. "It's been about two years... there were times when I wanted to tell him... but I couldn't."

"You're afraid he won't accept you?"

Andrea's eyes took a low, more of a melancholy look. "I know he's scared to get close to people like that."

Youko noticed that Andrea's attitude changed almost drastically. There was almost like a longing in her voice, a longing for something she thought she could never have. "Andrea, look at me." When Andrea didn't move, he blinked. "Come on. Have I suddenly deformed in the last few minutes? Look at me."

Andrea looked up slowly, waiting to hear what he was going to say.

"Andrea, I may be a demon, but even I know about emotions. You may think that this will help Shuichi feel better, but it won't. He's hurting, a little bit yes, but if you go away forever, then the pain he feels right now will double a thousand times fold. Believe me, I know what it's like to lose someone you care about, and I do not wish that to happen to Shuichi." Youko's golden eyes turned into what Andrea's eyes were already as he thought of his partner, Koronue. /1/

After an uneasy minute of silence, Andrea finally broke it. "I didn't tell Shuichi this, but the night after he killed Karasu..." She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to play out the words. "Shizuru asked me what if Toguro had pointed at him instead of Kuwabara."

Youko looked back at Andrea. "And how did you answer?"

"I don't think I could take it."

"Andrea, Shuichi would feel the same if it was you who was targeted and not Kuwabara. He wouldn't take it." _Other that he's desperately in love with you, but he can't figure that out, _he added to himself.

Andrea blinked at him. "He wouldn't take it, and he's worse off than the beginning of the round?"

"Andrea, I'm not making the decision for you, but I just want you to think about what you're doing for a second," Youko said, pointing one of his clawed fingers to the door Andrea was facing. "If you walk through that door, there are no second chances. You can't pass go and you can't collect those two hundred dollars. /2/ It's the point of no return. /3/ You enter there, and you ain't coming back."

Andrea let the realization seep inside her for a moment until it finally hit her. "If I walk through that door, I'll never see him again?" As Youko nodded, Andrea looked at the door again. "And that means I can't tell him that I love him," she said out loud, not really stopping herself.

Youko, however, wasn't surprised by her words. In fact, he had known all along. "Yes. It does," he answered.

Andrea recoiled slightly from what she had just heard. She thought no one heard what she had just said that, but as the last few seconds replayed in her mind, her blue eyes widened. "Oh, my God... that didn't come out, did it?"

Youko pretended not to hear what he heard Andrea say about Shuichi. "Said what?" he asked her innocently.

"I can't believe I just said that."

Youko blinked his gold eyes. "I didn't hear you say anything."

Andrea looked at the door, the tears starting to well in her eyes again. She felt she was lying to herself; why would Kurama waste his time with her instead of doing what he should have been doing? She felt like she was during the Dark Tournament, when she heard it first from the girls…

(Start Flashback)

In the stands, however, Andrea was confused. "What are they talking about down there?" she asked.

Botan looked at the arguing group. "I think they're talking about a certain blue-eyed girl who's got Kurama by the heartstrings," she answered.

Andrea looked at her. "What did you just say?" she asked.

"Come on, admit it," Botan answered her, despite Shizuru trying to shut the blue-haired girl up. "You're in love with Kurama, aren't you?"

"What?" Andrea was stunned, upset, and surprised all at once. "How could you say something so stupid as that?"

(End Flashback)

The answer was almost as plain as day. But there was no way Andrea was going to admit it. Not in front of the girls, the guys, Youko, and especially Shuichi Minamino. Shuichi… the main reason why she had returned to Japan…

(Start Flashback)

Andrea leaned her head onto Kurama's shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't write back," she said, her voice growing quiet.

He patted her back. "Daijoubu, Andrea-chan," he answered calmly. "Why are you back?"

"I promised you I'd be back, remember?" Andrea answered, smiling.

Kurama smiled as well. "And I know you always keep your promises," he answered.

"I couldn't leave you behind, though. So, that's why I left Florida... for good."

Although Kurama's face looked relieved, his eyes were now full of shock. "Why have you left Florida?"

"Well, Kurama, it was two major reasons: One starts with a C and another starts with a K," Andrea answered him. When he didn't answer, she blinked. "Don't tell me you have no clue with what I'm talking about."

"Other then a good education, I honestly can't think of anything," Kurama answered her. Although it was a puzzle, this one was baffling even him.

Her head still on his shoulder, Andrea looked up at him. "Okay, I'll give you a hint... think of one person I'd want to see again."

This started the guessing game. "Yusuke?" Kurama asked her.

Andrea felt like laughing. "That knucklehead?" she asked him. "No, keep guessing."

"Kuwabara?"

"If you say 'Koenma,' I might have to hit you."

His choices were narrowing. "Hiei?"

Shaking her head, Andrea tapped Kurama on the chin. "Nope."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "Then I suppose I've ran out of options."

Andrea sighed. _This is gonna take some work,_ she thought to herself. Aloud, she answered, "It's you, silly."

(End Flashback)

The tears that had started to form in Andrea's eyes now slid down her face. But in order for her to understand it, she had to first let it out. "I just said I loved Shuichi Minamino," she said after a prolonged silence.

Youko felt like celebrating, but the pain in her voice wasn't anything to be happy about. "You said it," he replied. "And I know you mean it."

"But I can't tell him..." Andrea stopped as she lowered her head; letting some more of the tears fall. "I can't hurt him..." She finished in defeat. With everything that had happened, from the Dark Tournament to now, she had put on a simple rose-colored glasses /4/ façade, but unfortunately for her, it just came crashing down.

Youko's fox ears twitched at how silent Andrea was once again. "Do you wish to continue to hurt him?"

"I don't want to, but every time I try to tell him, something happens," she answered, continuing her gaze at the floor. "I mean, during the Dark Tournament, half of the group, and while I was away, the other tournament. Then there was the rematch with Karasu." She sniffled. "So, now, it's Jason and him trying to kill me… again. I can't put Kurama through that much pain again."

"Love without pain is no love at all. But love with too much pain is a heartbreak," Youko replied. As Andrea continued to look at the ground, he stood up. "I am not telling which why to choose. You can go through that door and never come back, or you can come with me and see him again. Which shall you choose? It is your decision alone."

Andrea stood to her feet and looked at the door for a few seconds. Something inside her snapped. She never gave up on anything before, and this was going to be the last time she ever felt that way. "I won't hurt Kurama like that. He'll think I'm giving up," she answered and turned to face Youko.

Youko held out his clawed hand to her. "Will you came back with me now?" he asked and smiled softly when Andrea sniffled, grabbed his hand and nodded.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's Notes:

/1/ Um, I'm not going to explain this until you see "Poltergeist Report."

/2/ "You can't pass go and collect that $200." That's from "Monopoly." Courtesy of Parker Brothers.

/3/ From "Phantom of the Opera." Kudos to Kori for that reference.

/4/ "Rose-Colored Glasses" was a song by a singer named John Conlee. To anyone who doesn't know him, he was a mortician-turned-singer. Spooky. Here's the chorus of the song: "But these rose-colored glasses that I looking through show only the beauty, cause they hide all the truth."

Cece: Even with a cold, I still finished it! Whoo hoo!

Kurama: And with a cold, you're going back to bed, missy.

Cece: Heh heh… well, review here. (snuggles back in bed and waves)


	11. Honest Answers

Honest Answers

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: All righty. Once I said I don't own YYH, I don't own YYH. There, I said it.))

Cece: Finally the sweetest chapter in the world…

Yusuke: She's really in love with herself, isn't she?

Cece: I heard that, Yusuke Urameshi!

Kurama: (laughs nervously while he sweatdrops) Well, you'll have to read it for yourself to see what she means by that. And Cece is doing wonderful now.

(Cece hums "Wonderful" by Everclear)

Kurama: Um, read on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was yet another fall November day in the hospital. Though the leaves were changing colors, the nurses changing shifts, and the doctors changing patients, one thing still remained unchanged: Andrea was still in a coma, and Kurama was, once again, at her bedside. Kurama had literally tried everything imaginable: talking to her, holding her hand, staying with her, even watching the same programs she usually watched, but nothing seemed to work.

Not even the doctors were holding out much hope for her. Since it had been a month, he was told, that she could have some brain damage. As much as he wanted her to come back, he didn't want her worse off than before.

"I can't believe you still haven't woken up yet," Kurama said to her still form, listening to the machines' rhythm. Almost as soon as he felt the side of her face, he heard a strange noise. He looked at the machines, which were beeping normally, but as he looked back at Andrea, her seemingly closed eyelids started to flutter.

Andrea's head started to move very slowly, almost as if everything were in slow motion. Her heavy lids started opening, and a fuzzy yet familiar image appeared in front of her. She blinked, hearing a distorted voice saying her name.

"Andrea? Andrea, can you hear me?"

When she blinked again, the image was nearly clear. It was a comforting yet it was also a startling sight. The slight sight of red hair stood out against the white walls of wherever she was at. "Where … where am I?" she asked, her voice cracking from just waking.

Kurama's emerald green eyes widened at the sight before him. Andrea was finally awake, although she looked tired, she was awake. "You're in the hospital," he answered, his once-worried features giving way to relief.

Andrea blinked again and had a sharp intake of air at hearing where she was but was stunned at the familiarity of the answerer's voice. She turned her head to the side. "Kurama?" Her blue eyes blinked in surprise at the visitor.

Kurama smiled as he ran a hand through Andrea's bobbed tresses. "I'm right here," he answered in a tone to not startle her.

Andrea's blue eyes, however, widened and looked around as if she were a frightened animal. "Oh, my God," she said, starting to sit up in her bed, only to feel two sharp pains: one from her arm where the IVs were and the other from her head.

Almost out of instinct, Kurama jumped out of the chair he was in and settled her gently back down. "Just take it easy," he answered in his calm voice. "You just came out of a coma."

"I just what?" Andrea asked in disbelief. "How long?"

"It's been a month," he replied. "The rest of the team was worried about you."

Andrea's gaze continued to meet the ceiling. "They were?"

Kurama nodded. "Indeed," he answered, taking his hand and smoothing her bangs. "Keiko, Botan, and Yukina held a candlelight vigil for you for the whole time you were under. Of course you know Yusuke; Keiko made him come."

A somewhat tired giggle came from her throat, the first one Andrea had since she was safe in her apartment with Kurama the night before she was attacked. "That's Yusuke; you have to make him do something," she answered.

Then, there was silence except for the machines still beeping. "I should get the doctor in here for you," Kurama said, breaking the silence while he started to stand up. He didn't even make a step before Andrea's hand grabbed his wrist. "Don't worry; I'll be right outside the door." As she let go, he walked out the room to find her doctor, who was talking to a nurse. "Excuse me?"

Dr. Yamaguchi looked at him. "Oh, yes," he said, smiling. "What can I do for you, Minamino-san?"

"Andrea just came to a few moments ago," Kurama answered. "I'm probably reading her mind as she would likely want those IVs out of her."

The doctor chuckled as he followed Kurama to the room, where Andrea still looked at the ceiling. He knocked on the door. "Andrea-chan?" he asked and was greeted with a tired yet awake Andrea. "I bet you're ready to get these out of you, right?"

"I've been ready," she said. "Plus, I look like I'm being tied to a bed."

The doctor let out another chuckle as Kurama lowered his head and covered his mouth with his right hand, trying not to laugh too loud. Andrea was slowly coming back.

The doctor tried to be as gentle as he could in taking out the main ones she didn't need anymore. "There," he said, discarding the needlepoints used in her arm. "You don't need those anymore."

Andrea blinked and looked at her arm, where only a few IVs remained. "Thanks, but when's the rest coming out?" she asked the doctor.

"When your strength returns," he answered, bowing at both Kurama and Andrea as he started to leave with the equipment. He looked at Kurama. "Don't let her get too excited, or her blood pressure would rise out of control."

"I understand," Kurama said as he bowed to the doctor as he left the room. "Domo arigato." After he left, Kurama turned back to Andrea and smiled. "I told you I'd be back."

Andrea smiled lightly at him, but then her face turned saddened as she looked down at the IVs that were still in her arm. Knowing full well that Kurama would probably ask her what was wrong, she said in a low voice, "I had a weird dream last night."

Kurama walked back to her bedside when he heard her voice. "You did?" he asked her.

Andrea nodded. "Though it was unusual," she answered.

He sat down on the bed at the foot and looked at the walls. He had a strange feeling this conversation was heading in a whole new direction. Something he wasn't sure he was ready for. "What was it about?"

"Well, I was walking down this hall... and there was a light."

Kurama blinked. "A light at the end of the tunnel?"

Andrea nodded slowly, as she didn't want her head to hurt any more than it did. "But I was about to go there when someone stopped me."

"Who?"

Andrea swallowed a possible lump in her throat as she looked at her IVs. "Youko."

Kurama blinked in confusion. How in the world did Youko enter Andrea's dream? On second thought, maybe he didn't want to know.

"I don't know how he got there," she continued, "but he stopped me from going to that light."

"Why?"

Andrea looked at an imaginary speck on the hospital floor. "Because if I had walked into that light... I'd be gone." When Kurama looked at her, she finally felt like her heart would explode. "That light meant death."

Kurama could barely believe it. Did Andrea really want to give up on life, the one thing she craved? "Did you want to die?" he asked her.

The question he asked her made her blink and lower her eyes back to her arm again. It was something some people had asked her already. "Part of me did," she answered. "I didn't want you to suffer..."

Kurama was growing more confused. What was she talking about? "Suffer? Me?"

Andrea struggled to take a deep breath to explain what she meant… if she could, that is. "Staying in here, worrying over me, almost getting an ulcer..." She felt ashamed with the stress her coma had probably done to him. "I wouldn't want that on even Yusuke."

Now it made some sense to Kurama. She was worried about him and what happened did to him. Although he barely slept at night, he was fine. That is, until he saw how embarrassed she was with her answer. "Andrea..."

Just hearing her name made Andrea close her eyes and lower her head silently. She didn't want him to see her like this and was about to tell him to leave until…

"Andrea, I was worried about you, yes," he continued. "You had a very bad concussion and the doctors weren't sure if you would survive. But had you died, I would have hurt far more then I did before."

Andrea dared a small split-second look at the redhead before looking back down.

"I don't know what would happen to me if I lost you," he finished. "I would be lost myself."

After hearing Kurama's answer, Andrea swallowed another lump in her throat. "You'd go on, wouldn't you?" she asked, hoping the answer was yes.

That was a question Kurama didn't expect out of Andrea. Sure he'd have the countless fangirls still trying to get him to go out on a date with them, but then again… it just wouldn't be the same to him. "I might, or I might not. I do not know," he answered.

Andrea sniffled and took a deep breath. "Almost two months ago, Shizuru asked me something I never thought she would."

"What did she ask?" Kurama could feel his curiosity piquing.

"If Toguro had pointed at you rather than Kuwabara..." She paused for a second and then finished her answer. "I didn't know what to think."

Kurama blinked in surprise. He expected the question from Shizuru, but the answer from Andrea was a stunner. "You said that?" he asked her.

Andrea nodded, answering with, "I'd probably cave in inside."

If her first answer didn't surprise him, the second one sure did. "Andrea... if Shizuru asked me that question, I would have said the same answer," he answered.

This time, Andrea had to blink in surprise while continuing to look down at the bed. "What?" she asked him.

Finally what Youko had been telling him for a long time was starting to come out. The question in Kurama's mind was: What if she didn't understand? He looked at the tiled floor as he answered, "I would have said the same." He looked at Andrea, who had her fist clenched with her obviously longer nails digging into her hand, and stood up, knowing the answer. "I am sorry. Forget I said anything," he said, facing the wall.

Andrea honestly didn't know what to make of what Kurama had just said. He would have given up his life for her, but there was something off with his last statement. Maybe she was scaring him with her clenched hand. "It's okay, really..." she said, loosening her hand back to normal.

Kurama looked back at her when her hand relaxed. Maybe she thought she scared him. Not that a fox demon would be scared of a girl's clenched fist. He sure wasn't afraid of her last one. He braced himself mentally for what she was about to say.

"I've already lost most of the people I loved," Andrea said, continuing to look down. "My parents, my adoptive parents, and most of my friends..." She looked up at him, tears starting to form in her eyes. She braced herself for the truth as it came out of her. "And I'm not going to lose you either."

Kurama watched the tears slide down her face for a second, and that was when he had remembered Andrea saying something like that during his first fight with Karasu. He walked over to her, sat down on the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her, letting the girl cry against him as long as she wanted.

Andrea blinked as the tears continued. Usually it was she hugging him, but now it was the other way around. Something must have come out from within him. She hugged him back as much as she could with the IVs still in her arm as she swallowed another lump in her throat. "I couldn't live with myself if I had to lose you, too."

Kurama couldn't believe it took her almost dying to realize what she was really feeling. He heard her sniffle, knowing the truth had come out. "You will never lose me, Andie," he said.

Andrea let out a small choked laugh at Kurama using her nickname. She hadn't heard that name since she had been in the hospital. She buried her head in his shoulder and started sobbing lightly as Kurama rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her down. She could hear him shushing her as the tears fell into his shoulder. "I want you to know that I love you, no matter what you are," she said, taking a deep breath and a sniffle. "It doesn't matter whether you're in your demon form or now. I just love you."

Kurama let his other hand glide through her hair, although it was now tangled and had grown slightly longer in the past month. Of the other girls who merely loved him for what he looked like, she loved him within. And it was one of the things he wanted to feel for someone anyway. "Andie, I love you too," he answered.

Andrea blinked, frozen in place. She couldn't really believe it; he had said it, too? It had literally taken her a good long year to finally say what it was she wanted to say. Now she was like a statue in a museum.

Kurama looked down at her, a smile so soft spreading across his lips that it would melt butter with a hot knife.

"You know, I thought that if I said that, you'd probably send me to the psych ward," Andrea said after a good five minutes of silence.

Kurama shook his head, chuckling. "No, never," he replied as he let go of her and helped her pull her bed up into a couch-like thing.

Andrea scratched the back of her head. There was yet another question left unanswered. "Um, how long have you known?" she asked him.

Youko couldn't resist. **"Since Shuichi first looked at your sexy figure," **he said mentally, while he let out a purr.

Kurama turned his mental Youko half into a piñata and then turned back to Andrea. "Since I first saw you," he answered. He looked at Andrea, who blinked and looked at him in shock. This made him look at the floor. "That's... That's how long I've liked you."

"Before you knew?" she asked him, thinking of before he knew her as a Tantei. When he nodded, she looked at the floor and mumbled, "Before I knew…"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," he said, trying to make a joke to Andrea as he looked at the light in the room. Andrea let out a small laugh and covered her mouth with her other hand. Though it felt wonderful to hear Andrea's laugh, he felt plagued. "I'm sorry I lied to you."

Andrea's laughing ceased when she looked at Kurama in confusion and blinked. "Lied to me? What about?" she asked him, turning on the TV to drown out the silence and the consistent beeping of the monitors.

"My feelings..." Kurama started to say, but Andrea had clamped her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"We've both been through a lot, you know?" she said, feeling her hand slip off of his shoulder. "And with..." her voice grew silent.

"Don't even mention him. He doesn't deserve it."

Andrea looked up at him and blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Nobody deserves to be remembered after what they had done, especially him and what he did to you," he continued.

Andrea let out a small smile until she looked at the TV, where her eyes widened in a horrific shock. Kurama looked up as well to see what was it that stunned her.

A female reporter about the age of 28 was on the screen, delivering the news with a picture of Jason in his prison outfit. "Jason Westbrook's escape from jail was short-lived as he was found at Mushiyori Memorial Hospital dressed as a doctor and was about to murder 17-year-old Andrea Stone last night. The teenage girl was in critical condition and was rescued by 18-year-old Shuichi Minamino…"

Andrea saw Kurama's picture on the TV and looked at him, her face still stunned but now added shock. As she saw Kurama look away from her, she asked, "You stopped him, didn't you?"

Kurama looked back at her. Now she knew what had happened while she was unconscious. "I couldn't let him hurt you," he answered.

The rest of the broadcast died away as Andrea lowered her head. "You could've gotten hurt..." she started.

"I'm a better fighter then he was," he answered her. "I overpowered him easily." Hearing Andrea sniffle, he looked at the girl as she had looked away. He took her hand, which made her blink and her hand twitched, then relaxed after a second. "I will always protect you, Andie."

Andrea turned her lowered head around and looked up at him as she blinked.

"I promise I will."

Andrea was about to answer when a low growling rumble noise came from her stomach. Feeling her face growing pink with embarrassment, she covered her face with her free hand.

Kurama chuckled at Andrea's embarrassment. "I'll call the nurse for some food. How's that?" he asked her.

"Wish I had a Big Mac, a banana split bigger than Youko's ego..."

"**Hey!"** Youko said from within Shuichi.

"I don't think anything's bigger than Youko's ego," Kurama answered, and when Andrea gave him an odd look, he chuckled somewhat nervously.

"Or a hot dog the size of a truck," Andrea said. Who knew being in a hospital would make her so hungry?

"**If your girlfriend kissed you right now, the shock'd be bigger than the size of a truck," **Youko said in Kurama's mind, which earned him a well-deserved kick.

"I'll go get that food," Kurama said, starting to stand up.

"Okay." Andrea blinked, remembering something. She had only done this the day she left Japan, but she wondered how he would take it this time. "Oh, and Shuichi?" When he looked at her, she gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks for saving me."

Kurama blushed as his Youko side was starting to tease him yet again. He saw Andrea blush as well and lower her head. _That must have embarrassed her,_ he thought, but as he turned to walk out, he looked back at Andrea. "Uh, Andrea, can I ask you something?"

"Um, okay," she answered, leaning her head against the pillow.

"When you're out of the hospital, and you've recovered, do you want to go out?"

Andrea blinked as her face turned even redder. It was a surprise, no doubt, being asked out on a date. "All right," she answered.

Kurama smiled another of his platinum smiles. "Thank you."

Andrea looked up, the blush still on her face as her stomach growled again. She looked at her stomach. "Oh, shut up down there," she said.

"I'll, uh, get that food now."

"Okay."

"Did you bring the wine and roses?" Youko asked his human form. 

Kurama sighed. _"Youko…"_

"**What?"**

"_SHUT UP!"_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Yusuke: Awwwww….

Kurama/Cece: Shut up, Yusuke!

Hiei: Review here.

Kurama: (takes a gulp of mint-flavored water) And don't forget the water.

Cece: Shuichi Minamino! That was the last bottle!

Kurama: Oops. (runs from author)


	12. Rising Concern

Rising Concern

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: I don't own it, and I don't need to.))

Cece: Sorry for the LONG break. I was working on another story and going through some personal problems. I'm back now.

Kurama: (in a black suit) You are about to enter…

Cece: No more Sci-fis for you. Anyway, read on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A relieving 24 hours had gone by since Andrea had come out of her coma. The doctors had told them she would have to stay overnight, but Kurama could come back tomorrow and see her, which was exactly what he did.

In the hospital room, Dr. Yamaguchi checked her pulse and blood pressure. "Well, you're doing a lot better," he said, stepping away from the bed, where Andrea was laying with a small bandage on her head.

"I'm just glad to be here," she answered as a knock on the door interrupted her.

The doctor went to open the door and in came a person with flowers obscuring a face. "Well, it seems you have an admirer," he commented. "I just need to check on a few patients and I'll be back." After Andrea nodded, he left.

She looked at the flowers and giggled as she saw a familiar pair of emerald eyes looking through them. "Wow… and I thought I had a flower fetish," she said as she looked at him.

Kurama lowered the flowers from his face. "You wouldn't believe all the people that missed you," he said, taking a few at a time and them to her. "Let's see… there's Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, Shizuru, Yukina…"

While Kurama continued to count off the people and hand her a small handful of flowers from each person, Andrea felt her cheeks redden. "Oh, boy…" she said quietly.

"…And then me," Kurama finished, sitting in the bedside chair, tired from counting the people who had delivered flowers. "Next time, I'll just ask them all to sign a card."

Andrea giggled, ruffling the fox demon's hair. "Poor fox-boy," she said.

"So, I'm safe to assume that he might discharge you today," Kurama said, looking at the girl in the bed. She looked a little better, but he was thankful nothing was broken.

"I hope so," she answered. "Another day in a room like this would make me insane."

"Well," Kurama started, going from the chair to a side of the bed to sit on. "I would agree if you had to deal with four white walls and nothing to look at."

"Except out the window, which all I see are just buildings."

"True." Then, the silence set in, but only for a moment. "I'm really glad you're all right. I just wish that I could have prevented your attack sooner."

"It's over and done with," she answered, smiling at him. The bruises were barely visible from the last month.

Then came a knock on the door, and the doctor walked in. "Oh, I'm glad you're here, sir," he said to Kurama. "Would you mind if we talked alone?"

Kurama looked down to ask Andrea, but she had just fallen back asleep. "All right," he answered. "She just dozed off again." While the doctor's attention went to her chart, Kurama got off the bed and pecked her lightly on her head. Pulling the blankets up to her chest, he brushed her bangs out of her eyes before he walked out of the room and followed the doctor into a waiting room.

"Is there something wrong with her?" Kurama asked as he sat down.

"No, there's nothing wrong. In fact, she's doing very well," the doctor answered. "I'm just worried about her living conditions. Even with the attack on her life here a few nights ago…"

"What about that?"

"Well, she needs a while to fully recover, and she shouldn't really be alone, considering her attacker might try again."

Kurama nodded. Now he was starting to get what the doctor meant.

"I guess what I mean is in order for her to be discharged, she'll have to be under someone's care, someone she can trust and depend on."

"She'll stay with me," Kurama answered, being handed with the familiar papers.

"Just sign here, here, and here at the bottom," Dr. Yamaguchi pointed out where for Kurama to sign. After he saw that the redhead was finished, he took the clipboard. "All right, as soon as Andrea's awake again, she's free to go. I'll go ahead and take out the remaining IVs."

"Thank you," he answered and bowed before the doctor left for Andrea's room. _She'll at least be somewhere safe… and definitely not alone._ He walked to Andrea's room and watched as the doctor very carefully took out the IVs in her arm. "Is there anything else I should know?"

The doctor disposed of the needles used in Andrea and looked at him. "She's going to be weak for a couple of days, so if she needs to rest, let her," he explained. "You'll probably have to help her walk up stairs, for example."

Kurama nodded, looking at the napping girl on the bed. "I understand."

The doctor nodded. "She's going to be in pain for a couple of days, up to a week," he replied. "Though at times the pain will subside, some won't."

Andrea started opening her eyes and heard the last part of the conversation. She saw the doctor leave the room and Kurama walk up to the bed. "So, when can I get out of this hell?"

Kurama smiled and chuckled. "After you've woken enough," he answered. "The doctor explained that you'll probably be in pain for a while."

When Andrea moved her arm and winced, she nodded. "Oh, yeah." She started to get out of bed, gritting her teeth, until she felt an arm sneak around her waist.

"Okay," Kurama had wrapped one of her arms around his neck and was starting to steady her as she stood to her feet. "You've been off your feet for about a month, so just take it slow for right now." He took a step forward, keeping himself within arm's reach of her.

Andrea took a step towards him, shaking but took one anyway. "I think I'll be okay," she said, looking at the floor at her shaking legs. It was the first time in a month she was able to stand up. Sure it was with Kurama's help, but at least she was still standing. She stayed still just until she could handle it.

"You're fine," Kurama said in a reassuring tone, taking another step back. "If you start to fall, I'll catch you."

Andrea took another step and wobbled, falling into Kurama's arms. What she didn't know, however, was a pair of lips against hers. Her eyes widened and slowly relaxed at the sight of his crimson bangs.

Kurama, though, was still stunned by what was going on. Nor did he try to stop it. The only thing he could do was support her against him. He finally broke away, his cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment. He looked into her eyes and then at her confused yet startled face. "Are you all right?"

Andrea blinked, not really knowing what to make of it all. She nearly fell, sure, but he had kissed her. Why? "I…I'm okay," she answered.

"I think you're going to need a lot of walking to get the feeling in them again."

"I guess so," Andrea answered, sitting back down on the bed with Kurama's help at the same time the doctor walked in.

"Well, I see she's up and about," Dr. Yamaguchi said, walking up to them. He went in front of Andrea to get her blood pressure and her pulse. After a minute passed, he looked at the machine. "Hmm… 120 over 70," he reported, taking the blood pressure wrap off of her arm.

"So… what's that mean?"

"That means you're free to go," the doctor answered, much to Andrea's relief. "After you change, you can leave right now." He looked at Andrea. "Now be careful the next time."

"There won't be a next time." Andrea started to stand up, this time Kurama's arm was around her shoulders as he helped her up. "I'm fine." She started off to go behind a curtain.

"Thank you, Doctor," Kurama said as he and the doctor bowed before the doctor left the room. When he turned around, however, he was only met with a bare arm, fingers clenching and unclenching.

"I knew I forgot something," Andrea complained from behind the curtain.

Kurama looked at the arm for a second and then blinked. "Oh! I forgot," he said, heading for a bag he had brought with him. Looking in it for a second, he handed her the bag. "I had no idea what you felt like wearing, so I tried to find something."

Andrea grabbed the bag and looked inside. She pulled out a pair of blue jeans, a pale green sweater, and a pair of sandals. Though when she dug deeper in the bag, she blinked.

"Um…" By now, Kurama's cheeks were pink while a sweatdrop rolled down the back of his head. He really didn't want to pick out anything like that for her, but he knew in his mind, Youko was smiling.

"Oh. Thanks a bunch," she answered, shredding off the hospital gown that she had worn for a month. After a few minutes, she peered around the curtain and looked at Kurama, who had his back to her. "Um, Kurama? You don't happen to have a brush on hand, do you?"

Kurama pulled a hand to his hair and pulled out a comb, his composure regained. "I don't have a brush, but I do have a comb, if it will suffice for now," he answered, handing it to her.

Taking it, she stepped out from behind the curtain and started combing her hair. Wincing a little from the tangles, she finished and handed the comb back to him. "Thanks."

You are never gonna wash that comb out again.

_Youko, give it a rest._ He looked at her and smiled one of his famous platinum smiles. "I'll go ahead and get that wheelchair for you," he said, but as he walked away, Andrea grabbed his arm, making him blink and turn around.

"I don't need one," she said before her knees buckled beneath her again. She blinked and found herself held by Kurama again.

"I think you do," he answered, helping her into a chair. "You shouldn't stress yourself too much at the moment." When she looked up at him questioningly, he rephrased the former sentence into facts. "You just came out of your coma yesterday, but you're not fully well yet." He knelt down next to the chair and looked at her. "And the only way you're able to leave this hospital is in a wheelchair. I promise, one trip in a wheelchair and that's it."

Andrea blinked and looked at him. "Just one trip?"

"Just one, and that's just to a cab outside," Kurama assured her. "And that's it, no more wheelchair." After he finally saw her nod, reluctantly still nodded, he stood up and started out the door. _She must not like wheelchairs too much,_ he thought.

More like she wanted you to carry her home… Youko gave out a mental purr.

_I think it's just the idea of staying in a hospital longer than what she's used to._ Kurama continued to walk until he spotted a nurse and asked her where the wheelchairs were. After a minute, he got a wheelchair and wheeled it almost to the room. Then he had an idea to make her feel better about getting out.

Back in the room, Andrea was looking out a window until she heard a knock on the door. When she turned her head, she blinked and nearly looked like laughing. Kurama was wheeling himself in the same wheelchair he was getting her back into the room. "What did you do, trip over a nurse?" she asked.

Kurama stood up and out of the wheelchair. "Not in the least sense," he answered, helping her out of the chair and into the wheelchair. "Don't worry. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not fond of them myself."

"Well, why were you in it just then?" Andrea asked, looking behind her to look at Kurama.

Kurama went around to the other side of the room to get her things. He grabbed the empty bag and placed the stuffed seal that the little girl had given him to give to Andrea. "I know with the stress you've been under for a good month and a half, even with you unconscious." He set the bag in her lap and started to leave when the nurse walked in.

"Oh, she's leaving us today?" she asked them.

"Yes, she's going home," Kurama answered. That was a definite half-lie. She would be going home, but she wasn't going to stay there. "Please excuse us, there's a cab waiting for us." Another lie.

"Oh, of course," she said in a sugary-sweet voice as she waved at them leaving.

Andrea waved for a second and as soon as they were out of earshot, she held a hand to her face while Kurama stopped them at an elevator and pressed the down button. "That voice was giving me a headache."

Kurama chuckled as a ding sounded. When the elevator doors opened, several people walked out with flowers and balloons. He wheeled a reluctant-Andrea-in-wheelchair in the elevator and pressed a button to go down to the lobby. He watched as the elevator took them down to the lobby and as it dinged and the doors opened, he wheeled her out of the elevator.

"Any chance I can get a shower when I get home?"

Kurama blinked and looked down at Andrea's upside-down face. "Well, you do look like you've seen better days…"

"Oh, thanks a lot, Einstein," Andrea answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she rose her head to look out a window.

"I didn't mean it that way," he answered, putting the brakes on the wheelchair and sitting next to her. He could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks as he felt Andrea's oceanic gaze on him. "You want out of that wheelchair, don't you?"

"Yeah." Her voice was filling with apology. "Look, sorry I snapped at you…"

"You were just under a tremendous amount of pressure," he answered, looking at her somewhat tired form. "The whole ordeal with your ex-boyfriend, pressing charges on him, and him attacking you while you were defenseless…" He stopped as her hand held onto his.

"Last night, I never got to thank you for that," she answered. "I mean, I wanted to, but…"

"You were exhausted, and you had just come to earlier that day," Kurama interrupted. "Even more, the doctors felt you should have rested a little more last night anyway." A smile started to form on his lips as he looked at her. "That's enough of the past, hmm?"

"Yeah," she answered but blinked as she saw a car stop at the entrance and honk the horn.

Kurama noticed the car and stood up. "That's our ride," he answered, standing to his feet. He pulled Andrea out of the wheelchair, with her holding the bag, and walked to the cab. He noticed that Andrea would most likely need a little while to get her feet on the ground, so to speak. After helping her in the car, he sat down beside her.

Andrea only looked out the window, not hearing that Kurama had asked the cab driver to take them to her apartment. She watched as the hospital became smaller between the other buildings in the area. When she looked in front of her, however, she blinked as the car stopped.

Kurama fished out the fare and some extra. "Thank you for coming on short notice," he said to the driver while helping Andrea out of the car. After he closed the door, he waved to the cab driver, which left. He helped her up the stairs to her apartment.

Andrea took a deep breath and sighed. "Home sweet home," she said as she walked, more like limped, in her apartment with Kurama behind her.

"I'm afraid you might not stay here for now," Kurama answered, which made Andrea turn around and look at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"The other condition that you would be released would be that you stayed at my place until you got better."

Andrea blinked in shock. She was finally out of the hospital and she had to go stay with Kurama? She looked around her apartment and grabbed her stuffed animal, holding it close to her as if she felt she would fall over as she sat down on the couch. "Why?" she asked him, still holding the plush.

Kurama leaned against the wall. She was due for an explanation, although at the moment, he wasn't sure if she needed it. "To make sure you're safe."

Andrea rolled her eyes at him. "Kurama, I've lived by myself for about three years," she tried to reason. "I can take care of myself."

What she said was true, but after what had happened, the redhead wasn't taking any chances. "This is just for a while," he answered, bracing for an argument.

"How long is 'a while?' A week, a month..."

**A good long year...** Youko thought, loving the thought of having Shuichi's "woman" stay at the house… even though his human half gave him a good wallop.

"Just until we can find him and make sure he doesn't hurt you again," he answered, going to sit in a lounge chair near her.

Andrea raised an eyebrow, which hurt for a second. "But he's in jail again, isn't he?"

"It's just a precaution."

Andrea continued to hold her stuffed animal and looked out the apartment window, something she hadn't done since she had been in the hospital. "If I go with you, that means I'm putting everyone in your family at risk... again." Her voice held fear and concern, fear for the fact that Jason would attack again, and concern for his family.

Kurama shook his head. "Not so this time," he explained. "I planted Alarm Flowers all around the house. If someone enters who's not supposed to, then I'll know, whether asleep, awake, or miles away." /1/

Andrea rested her chin on the stuffed seal's head. "Think it'll keep Yusuke away?"

Kurama sweatdropped. He knew what Yusuke would probably tell her when and if he showed up. "Unfortunately no, but he does have a date with Keiko tonight."

"Oh, his girlfriend." /2/

**Like you're Shuichi's, although a certain redhead hasn't figured that out yet,** Youko thought, looking at the somewhat tired female on the couch.

_Can I ask you a question?_

**I'm listening.**

_How do you like your kitsune? Raw, medium, or well done?_

Andrea took a breath in the silence that seemed to linger in the room. Trying to look casual, she stood up from the couch, which made Kurama blink. "Well! Guess I better get packing..." She headed to her room.

Kurama stood up as well and turned in her direction. "I'll help you if you like."

Though part of her wanted to, the other half didn't want Kurama in the room with her. "No, thanks," she answered over her shoulder as she disappeared into the room. She took another deep breath and started folding some of her clothes and putting them in a suitcase.

Watching her enter her room, Kurama shrugged. "All right."

**Look, since you're not going to tell her, I will.**

_Youko, you even try and I'll have you by your toes._

**Doubt that.** With that, Youko only took over for a second. He had to make his voice sound like his human half. "I don't know how to tell you, but I love you," he said, letting Shuichi take back over with an innocent look on his face.

The sound of a suitcase falling from the bed made Kurama blink and look worried, putting his head in his hands. What had Youko just done? _Youko!_

**There, you finally said it.**

_I didn't say it! You did! _Scrambling to find a cover, he grabbed a book from the bookshelf and pretended to look through it.

Meanwhile, Andrea hurriedly finished her packing with a sort-of shocked look on her face. "He didn't say that, did he?" she asked as she shut the suitcase. "There's no telling how long he knows how long I've had feelings for him..." She looked at a framed picture of the Tantei and some of the gang. /3/ "Or if he even knows anyway…" Letting out a sigh, she grabbed her book bag and slung it over her shoulder.

In the living room, Kurama was dangerously close to having his face match his hair, although the book he was "reading" covered his face. _I can't believe you said that to her._

**She was going to find out anyway.**

_No more fox nip for you until the next full moon._

**Damn... and this is the thanks I get for finally getting the truth out?**

_Without my say so!_

Andrea came back out of her room with her book bag on her back and a suitcase in her hand and noticed Kurama reading. "Kurama? Did you say something?"

Kurama peered over the top of the book and looked at her. "What? I didn't say anything," he said but added mentally, _For once_.

Andrea blinked unbelievingly at the redhead. "I thought I heard you say you love someone," she replied, wanting to cross her arms if it weren't for her luggage.

**You**, Youko thought in Shuichi's brain.

Inwardly, though, Kurama was panicking. How was he going to get out of this one? "I don't believe I said anything while you were packing."

Andrea blinked, looking at the book in his hands. "Oh... you must have been reading from that," she answered.

Kurama looked at the book in his hand and inwardly sighed in relief, thanking Inari that the book was the perfect cover. "Oh, must have," he answered her. "I sometimes mumble the words without realizing it."

"It's a hard habit to break," she said, looking at the cover again and nearly giggled. "Considering it was Shakespeare."

"Yeah. It is."

Andrea now wanted to fall over laughing as she looked at the title. "Oh... _Romeo and Juliet_. What a sad way to go."

Kurama nodded, remembering the story of star-crossed lovers all too well from high school. "I found it particularly tragic."

Andrea grabbed a couple more books off the shelf and put some of them in her book bag. "Okay... I guess I can catch up on Greek Mythology while I'm homebound."

"Oh, are you interested in Greek literature?"

"I'm still reeling from that quiz a friend took of me," Andrea answered, putting another book in her suitcase. She wasn't the type of person to be compared to a Greek goddess or, well, anything really.

"Really? What was that?"

"Which Greek goddess was I... and I had to be the one I had to do that report on," Andrea answered, her brow twitching at the memory of being…

"Aphrodite?"

The answer made Andrea shudder. "That'd be the one."

**And Shuichi? Ares... wait... wasn't he Aphrodite's brother...**

_Half-brother,_ Kurama told his kitsune half to shut him up.

"Although someone said I should have been the goddess of ... oh, what was it..." Now her brows furrowed as she was trying to remember the alternative of the quiz she had to take.

Kurama mentally took a deep breath of relief as his face went back to normal. He leaned against the wall, setting the book on the shelf. "Well, there are quite many," he answered. "There's Hera, Selene, Diana, Artemis..."

Andrea blinked. "Wait, are we talking Greek or Roman?"

"Diana and Selene are in both."

Andrea scratched her head. Was that true? "I must have slept through that part." While Kurama shrugged, she snapped her fingers. "Now I remember! It was Amphitrite."

"I don't believe I've heard of her."

Andrea set down the suitcase in her hand and opened the book that remained in her other hand. "Oh, where was it..." she said, flipping through pages hurriedly. "Oh, here it is... 'Amphitrite: Greek goddess of the sea, wife of Poseidon, and daughter of Nereus and Doris or Okeanos and Tethys. Poseidon chose her from among her sister Nereids. Amphitrite fled, but she was retrieved by a dolphin and returned to Poseidon. Mother of Albion, Benthesicyme, Charybdis, Rhode and Triton.'" /4/

Kurama nodded slightly. It seemed to suit her better, as she came from America… and a Southern state, no less. "Interesting."

Andrea's ocean eyes looked up at the redhead, the entire Greek thinking in her mind. "Though I can think of who you'd be," she offered.

"I'm afraid to ask." Kurama didn't really know, and given Youko's personality, he probably didn't _want_ to know.

Andrea gave Kurama a good once-over and flipped through the book. "Let's see..." While Kurama waited beside her, Andrea's fingers continued to flip through the pages until… "Okay, don't laugh."

"Why should I laugh?"

Andrea tapped a finger on the page. "Dionysus," she answered.

While Kurama mentally told Youko to shut up with his laughing, he blinked. "Well, uh, that's... Different."

"He's the god of the vine," Andrea explained, thinking of Kurama's ability to use vines or anything plant-like in battle and mentally giggling. "And I think it suits you." /5/

Kurama read the rest of the history and nodded. "Yes, I do believe it does."

Andrea stuck that book as well into her suitcase and then closed it. "Well, I'm ready," she said, picking up her stuffed animal.

Kurama nodded. "Let's go," he answered, helping Andrea out the door and following after, locking the door behind them. At least she understood the danger of staying alone, still, the concern for her rose even further.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's Notes:

/1/ Well, in different doujinshis that I've read, Kurama can make anything out of a plant.

/2/ She doesn't know of Yusuke getting engaged to Keiko.

/3/ The picture that Keiko holds during the end of "Sayonara Bye Bye" is the one in question.

/4/ Ironic… she loves aquatic life and she gets the cool one.

/5/ Too real here… but vine does mean "wine", so no biggie.

Cece: Yep, another chapter done, another break for me…

Kurama: Huh?

Cece: What?

Kurama: Aren't you going to tell them what happens in the next chapter?

Cece: No, that's a surprise. Review here, please. And thanks for the mint-flavored water!


	13. Nighttime Confessions

Nighttime Confessions

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Never owned YYH, and I never will.))

Yusuke: So, why is this chapter named that?

Cece: You'll see… Oh! I forgot to mention that this chapter's going to be a little longer than usual.

Kurama: I don't think they mind.

Cece: I would. Read on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It had only been a week and Andrea was sitting on the couch, wearing a deep blue nightgown to the floor, reading one of her books that she had taken with her. She wasn't 100 yet, but she was getting there. With Kurama around, it was a little more demanding to explain what she meant when she came to.

Kurama walked in the living room, carrying a bowl of popcorn and set it down on the coffee table. "I thought you would be hungry."

Andrea nearly jumped out of her skin and looked at him, her eyes widened slightly. "Kurama! Didn't your mother ever teach you never to sneak up on people?" she asked him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so deep into the story."

Eyes relaxing, Andrea nodded, looking back at the book. "Deep enough," she answered. "Echo and Narcissus were so sad." /1/

"I'm sure it was," Kurama replied, remembering the sad tale from class. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask. Mother will be back late, and Shuichi is at a sleep over with a friend."

Continuing to hold her book in one hand, Andrea held a hand around her throat with the other. "I thought I'd get over being all jumpy again."

"It'll take a while," the redhead answered, sitting down next to her. "Remember when Karasu snuck up behind us?"

Andrea raised an eyebrow. "You mean queer vampire guy?"

Kurama chuckled. "Yes, him," he answered.

"Don't get me remembering him. He made Suzuka look like a girl."

Kurama knew she didn't like putting "the beautiful" before Sazuka's name; she didn't think it was important. "Well, I was tense for a week after that," he answered her as Andrea set the book she was reading down and stood to her feet.

"Reminds me of that time with the mouse trap."

Kurama blinked, confused. "It does?"

"Especially that one attached to your foot." Seeing Kurama place a hand on his head, Andrea giggled. They both needed to loosen up after what had happened. "Embarrassing you, aren't I?"

"Extremely."

Andrea blinked a couple of times and pouted her lips at him. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right. It's good to rewind."

"Speaking of rewinding..." Andrea pointed to the TV, where a movie was playing backwards after it had been apparently over.

Kurama looked at the tape and blinked. "I didn't know that was there."

"It's funnier watching it backwards..." She stopped when she heard some rumbling.

Kurama looked out a window. "Looks like a storm," he said and wanted to marvel and laugh at Andrea's speed. She had grabbed the remote and turned off the TV in a matter of a minute. "I need to call Mother and tell her."

Setting the remote down, Andrea nodded. "Sure." She then walked down the hall as Kurama decided to give a quick call to his mother before the storm got any worse.

The voice on the other end was nearly crystal clear as Shiori answered. "Hello?"

Kurama looked at Andrea, who had now sat down on the stairs as his mother answered. "Mother, it's Shuichi."

"Oh, hello dear. Is everything all right at home?"

"Everything's fine," he answered, looking back as Andrea looked at the ceiling. "Andrea's still a little jumpy. Must be hard on her."

"I believe so, especially with her just getting out of the hospital…" Shiori stopped as she heard some rumbling in the distance.

"I called to tell you there is a thunderstorm in the area. I hope you'll be careful while driving."

"Thank you, dear. Well, I need to get off now. I love you."

"You too, Mother. I'll see you when you get home."

"All right, dear. Good night."

"Good night." With that, Kurama hung up at the same time as Andrea headed back in the living room.

"Everything okay?" she asked him.

Kurama looked at her and nodded. "Everything is fine."

Andrea took a deep breath and let it out in relief. "Well, maybe it won't be so..."

"So what?"

Almost as if on cue, the lights went out all of a sudden. "... Bad."

Kurama went to the nearby desk and took out two flashlights. ""Wait here while I check the fuse box, okay?" he asked her.

Andrea nodded her head. "Okay."

Kurama handed her one of the flashlights. "Just yell if you need me." With that, he went down into the basement.

Andrea turned on the flashlight and walked around, the steady beam of light the only thing lit in the house. She walked around a little, trying to stay calm. The night that her ex-boyfriend attacked her was coming back to her. "Okay, just stay calm... it's only a small storm..."

Meanwhile, in the basement, Kurama was trying to fox the fuse box when he heard a crash of thunder, a scream and two separate thuds. He turned his head to the side, blinking his eyes. "Andrea? Are you all right up there?" he asked, closing the fuse box and started towards the stairs, where he heard a strange noise across the floor.

As he headed up the stairs, he heard rumbling from the thunder, but as he headed upstairs, saying Andrea's name, something tapped him on the foot. Reaching down, he looked at the object, worry starting to return to him.

_It's Andrea's flashlight_.

**And she's not dumb enough to walk outside during a storm...**

_Of course not,_ the kitsune thought, but as he went into the living room, he found a horrific surprise. Andrea had collapsed to the floor, almost as if she had fainted from something. As the lightning flashed, he noticed that her eyes were still open. "Andrea?" he said, looking at the girl, who only looked in front of her in a daze, it seemed.

She couldn't explain why she was on the floor or why she couldn't respond to Kurama's repeated usage of her name. It was almost as if she couldn't move, save for Kurama shaking her lightly, trying to get her to come out of it. Shaking, her eyes slightly rolled back in her head. "Don't leave me," she whispered quietly yet fearfully.

"I'm not going anywhere," he answered her, and as she whimpered incoherently, he left for a second and looked outside, emerald eyes narrowing. "There's nothing outside, and the Alarm Plants didn't go off." When he went back to her, Andrea had already started moving her eyes from side to side. "No one's outside."

Andrea, almost as quickly as she had collapsed, sat up on the floor and hugged her knees close to her chest. What was the matter with her? She had never been this scared of anything… if it were anything to begin with. "It was almost like that night," she said, remembering her attack as if it were yesterday…

A night Kurama remembered all too well. He wasn't going to let the same thing happen for no reason, not if he could help it. "It isn't the same," he said calmly to her. "I'm here."

Just hearing his voice made her crack. She leaned against him, shuddering as she buried her head in his shoulder while Kurama wrapped his arms around her. "When is it all gonna go away?" Her voice rose with a deep fear.

"I don't know." And Kurama really _didn't_ know. There was no telling how long Jason would stay in jail this time. No telling how long it would be until he would try again.

"I bet Yusuke's laughing this up, wouldn't he, if he were here?"

"Most likely," Kurama answered. It usually took a lot to turn Andrea into the whimpering person she was on the floor, but now it seemed she was getting more anxious by the minute.

And she wasn't the type of person who would get scared easily. Now, to Andrea, it sounded like a horror movie than it was real life. She was now getting scared of a thunderstorm? "You know, I've never admitted this before but..." She stopped as she felt Kurama's hand stroking her hair and a hiccup from her about to come out. "But I'm really scared."

**Oh, and this is the woman you're in love with?** Youko thought.

_Oh, be quiet!_

After the hiccup came out, she broke away from him and stood up. Part of Andrea told her that it was natural like the doctors had said would happen, but the other half thought that she was being too much trouble for him. And that meant one solution… "You might not want to be near me, so I guess I'll go and pack."

The announcement shocked the kitsune. Didn't want to be near her? It was about the only thing he could do to keep her safe, but when he looked at Andrea, he blinked. "What? What are you saying?"

Andrea looked at the floor, clenching her hands into fists, trying to keep whatever she was going to feel inside her. "I'm too much of a burden on you."

"No, you're not."

The inward struggle over her emotions was still raging, but she tried to hold on to what composure she had left. "I know I am."

Kurama wasn't really sure whether to go to her or stand still. "Andrea, you're my friend; you are not a burden."

**What happened to the "girlfriend" bit?**

_You put that in! Not me!_

When he saw her turn around slowly, still looking at the floor, he knew the battle was only starting. "Andrea, I know I've never told you this but..." He felt like kicking himself for what he was about to say, but she needed to hear it. "I'm sorry."

Andrea blinked, not really understanding why he said that? Why? "For what?"

The night that she had been placed in a coma came back to him just as the lightning flashed again. "For getting you hurt. It was mostly my fault. I should have been there."

The only question that circled Andrea's mind as she looked up was, _why is he blaming himself for something like that?_ "It's not your fault," she answered, her blue eyes shimmering with the tears she had wanted to keep inside. "It never was."

"I should have known he would be there. He was just waiting for the right time."

Andrea sniffled. "I've hated myself for what happened after Karasu..." When she saw Kurama look up at her, she wished she could have just shut up but didn't. "I did the one thing I never wanted to do."

Kurama looked confused. She wasn't talking about what had happened when she was taken to the hospital. There was only one other time she could be talking about.

"I blamed you for what had happened, and I regretted that, but I'm not making that mistake again."

Kurama didn't know whether to flat-out ask her what she meant or to let her tell him. He decided on the former. "You... what?"

"For not telling me that Karasu was the one attacking me. But I'm not letting you take all the blame for something that I myself could have prevented."

She was taking the blame onto herself? He couldn't understand. "But it was my fault."

Andrea shook her head. "No, it wasn't; it was my fault. I should have known that he knew where I lived."

Kurama chuckled, although the pain with Andrea was already cutting him like a knife. "Let's just say it was both of our faults and help me fix the fuse box?" He looked at Andrea, who smiled, although when she closed her eyes, a few tears fell, which he wiped them away. "Well? What do you say?"

Andrea blinked, knowing it would take a little while for her to regain her lost composure. "As long as I'm not alone."

"I promise. You won't be alone in this house."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "That was my mistake."

Kurama took her by the hand, despite what would happen if anyone had seen him do that. "Let's go," he said, handing her the flashlight.

"Just do me one big favor."

He looked down to the girl beside him. "Yes?"

Andrea looked up at him and smiled. "If you go off and blame yourself again, I'm going to hit you so hard that there'll be three sets of cheeks."

"I'll remember that," Kurama answered, as he, with Andrea's flashlight that she had dropped, started down the stairs to the basement with Andrea very close behind.

Not much to Andrea's surprise, the basement wasn't even cluttered, save for Christmas items and things of the like. She was still a little shaky when the thunder rumbled, but as long as he was there in the same room with her, it didn't really matter. She watched as the kitsune tried to get the power back on but failed. When he turned to look at her, she blinked. "So, what's the score?" she asked him.

"I have a suspicion that the storm's knocked the power out for the night," he answered. He noticed Andrea tense up lightly. "Don't worry; the darkness doesn't hurt anyone."

"So, um, what are we supposed to do?"

Kurama shone his flashlight to the stairs. "Well, let's head back upstairs and take it from there," he answered, leading Andrea back up the stairs and closing the door behind them. He noticed Andrea swaying slightly; he knew she was either tired or dizzy from what happened. "Why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep?"

Andrea looked at him, blinking her ocean eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," he answered, patting her on the shoulder. "I'll stay down here for a little while longer. You could use another few extra hours of rest; you're still recovering."

"All right," she replied, starting up the stairs to the guest room she was staying in, which, coincidentally, was across the hall from Kurama's own bedroom. When she reached the top of the stairs, lightning flashed again, illuminating the house for a second. She then walked into the room she was staying in and sat down on the bed. Moving her flashlight around, she saw a tea light lamp and lit it with a match in her purse. After she took a deep breath, she lay down on the bed. "I hope tonight's really over," she said to herself as her eyes closed.

Meanwhile, Kurama looked in the kitchen and found some candles, knowing all too well from, just recently, Andrea's fear of lightning. Of course, the fear was understandable; she was attacked during one and nearly died. He knew it would be another month or so before Andrea was Andrea again. Lighting the candle with a match, he blew out the match and set the flashlight on the desk so his mother would have something to see around the house with. He then took the candle and walked up the stairs just as the thunder clapped outside.

The kitsune walked down to the room Andrea was staying in and peered inside. She had already fallen asleep on her bed, her body nearing of falling off the bed. He walked in, set the candle on the dresser, and put a blanket over her after making sure she was at the center of the bed, where she wouldn't fall off. After sitting on her bed for a minute and her not waking up, he got up and walked to the door. "Good night," he said softly before he took his candle and went to his own room.

Once inside he changed into a pair of PJs and climbed into bed, sleep trying to claim him, but there were so many thoughts racing through his mind. It had been nearly three years since he had met her, and yet he wasn't sure of what to say to her. _I suppose I'll tell her when I believe I'm ready,_ he thought as he finally went to sleep.

The night went by very slowly, as if everything were in slow motion. A few hours after Kurama had fallen asleep, he felt himself tossing on the mattress, fighting an image in his mind of a battle that had been since completed. "Coward," he mumbled, gripping the same blanket that covered him. It was obvious; Kurama was having a nightmare.

Back in the guest room, Andrea opened her eyes and looked around in the dark room. The tea light candle in the lamp had gone out. She sat up in the bed, blinking as she pulled a blanket off of her. _How long was I asleep?_ She got out of the bed and walked to the bedroom door and peered out. "It's still kind of dark," she whispered to herself as she walked into the hallway but stopped when she heard a mumbling noise and peered in a door.

There she saw Kurama breathing heavily as he was sitting up in his bed. She tapped on the door and blinked. "Kurama?"

The redhead looked at the doorway and knew who it was, though it surprised him. "Andrea," he said as her eyes looked around. "Don't worry, no one else is here." With that, he saw her silhouette walk in and stand at the end of his bed. "Why are you up? You should he asleep."

"Can't sleep," she answered. "And neither could you, since you're up." She looked at the fox as he took a deep breath. "You look like hell, and I'm not meaning that lightly. What's wrong?"

Kurama looked at her through the darkness of the night as she sat on the edge of the bed. Why was she up this early? It had to be something else. "Just a bad memory," he finally answered.

"You know that's the same line you used on me with Karasu," Andrea answered as she crossed her arms across her chest. /2/ "It's something more than that, isn't it?"

Kurama could only watch as Andrea moved a little closer to him; now that the sky had cleared from the storm a few hours ago, the moon that had been hiding filtered into the room and lit up her blue eyes like a few of the stars that were out. The look in her eyes couldn't make him hide anymore. "Would you believe me if it was Karasu from a few months ago?"

Andrea nodded. "I'd believe it," she answered. "I'll even believe if it was Koenma in a tutu… wait… that's freaky."

Kurama chuckled, feeling the nightmare slide off of him as if a dream catcher were hung in the room although he had to tell her. "I suppose I should tell you what it was about," he said, getting Andrea's complete attention. "Karasu and I were standing in an open field and we were about to fight when he pulled you from behind him and used you as a shield. I knew he was a coward, but he told me that if I didn't fight him, he'd kill you."

Andrea swallowed a possible lump in her throat and took a deep breath. "So, what'd you do?" she asked him.

"I fought him, of course," he answered, "but as I was planning my last attack on him, I heard you scream." He watched as she moved a little more closer to him. "When I turned my head, you were on the ground… with my weapon around your neck."

"It was probably one of his tricks, okay?" she said as she pulled her hands up to the redhead's face and looked into his eyes. "Look at me, Kurama. We both know Karasu's dead and in hell, and he's trying to torture you through your mind."

But what she said next stunned Kurama more than anything he ever felt when he was fighting.

"I won't let that happen." She noticed his emerald eyes widened, but she felt her own ocean eyes tear up. "There's no way you can do it alone; it's almost like when I was in a coma. Sure I had the strength to come back, but the will had to be there…" The tears fell once again down her face.

Kurama noticed she was within arms reach of him, so he wrapped his arms around her and held her crying form. He never meant to upset her again, but that was all he did, which was about to change. "Come on, it's all right now," he said gently. "It's all over and done with."

But when Andrea lifted her head, this time, she was in for a big surprise.

"There was something I wanted to tell you back at the hospital, but everyone was going in and out so I couldn't say anything." When Andrea sat straight up, Kurama held her shoulders lightly and took a deep breath. It was now or never; whether she believed it, accepted it, or denied it was all up to her. "All of this time, I've been hiding it deep inside me…" But the more he wanted to tell her, the more nervous he became.

But why was he nervous? He was Youko Kurama, a fox demon who could make anyone fall in love with him, but somehow with Andrea, it was different. She had been attacked, almost run over, and almost died; yet she stayed next to him.

"Hiding what?" she asked him, blinking her ocean eyes in confusion.

Kurama looked at her calmly. There was no other way around it, except to tell her the truth… and pray to Inari that she didn't walk away. "Andrea, I know I haven't been able to tell you this before now, but… " He took another deep breath. "Do you remember when we were at your apartment right after you were released?"

"When I thought you said something but you didn't?"

"I did." When Andrea looked up at him, he finally said it. "I've fallen for a girl with shoulder-length hair who just happens to be in the same room with me."

Andrea looked around the room, finding only her and him alone. Before she had any time to fully react, she felt a pair of lips against her own, making her eyes widen. She started to wonder if she closed her eyes and opened them again, it would all be a dream, but as she opened them again, it wasn't a dream at all; it was reality. She broke away after another few seconds, stunned. "That's what you were going to say all along?"

When Kurama nodded, he got a response he never expected. He fell backwards back on the bed they were sitting on, with the tables turned. She was now laying on top of him, their lips connected to the other. After a minute they broke apart again, but he was in for an even bigger surprise. Andrea had now fallen asleep right next to him, her arm around his waist. _Well, I better not disturb her tonight,_ he thought to himself as he went to sleep as well.

At eight in the morning, a knock came to his bedroom door, making an emerald eye open.

"Shuichi?" The owner of the voice walked in and looked in surprise at how the two young people were in bed. Her son was under the blankets while Andrea had merely an afghan over her.

That was when Kurama nearly sat up in bed; now he was fully awake. _Oh, no,_ he thought to himself. _Now she's seen where Andrea's been all night._ "It isn't what it looks like, Mother," he explained in a whisper as he got out of bed while untangling Andrea's arm from around him. He pulled the half of the blankets back over Andrea as he walked to the door. "She had a nightmare last night and she was a little afraid to be alone."

"Oh," she answered as she peered around her son and looked at the sleeping woman on the bed. "Did it have anything to do with her being in the hospital?"

"I believe so," Kurama answered, ushering his mother out and closing the door behind them. "There is something to tell you, Mother."

"Of course, dear," Shiori answered as her son went to lean against a wall.

"Last night, Andrea and I have gotten a little closer than expected," he replied, and then took a breath. It was time to let out the truth. "She's my girlfriend."

Shiori didn't really know what to say. Her son was usually very secretive around girls his age, but he had spent a deal of time with Andrea. And since she was sleeping in his bed, which just proved that they were getting a little closer together. "I'm happy for you, Shuichi." When Kurama blinked at her, she nodded but then looked at her watch. "Oh, I have to head to work; your step-father's already left."

"All right," he answered. "I love you." After his mother had gone down the stairs, he walked back into his room and found that Andrea was still asleep. _The doctor did tell her if she was tired to let her rest,_ he thought. _It'll probably do her some good._ He sat down at his desk and continued to watch her. He picked up a book from his desk and started to read… until the doorbell rang.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Author's Notes:

/1/ The story of Narcissus and Echo: Basically, Narcissus promised Echo he'd marry her if she'd grant him his wish to see himself. When Echo did it, though, he backed out of the promise and became a flower. Echo faded until all that was left was her voice.

/2/ From the second part "The Trials of Life," chapter called "Nightmarish Reality."

Cece: Sorry for the cliffy, but I'm getting started on the next chapter right now. Review here.


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